Subtle Clues
by Kavi Leighanna
Summary: Women are turning up dead with only the marks of rape. Catherine and Grissom are leads on the case, will their professional relationship turn into something more?
1. Teaser

Now usually I start each of my stories off with one chapter devoted to an author's note explaining a little bit about the story and going into more detail in the summary but because Fanfiction.net has stopped that, you only get a teaser of the beginning. 

**Summary:** Women are turning up suspiciously dead with no indication of how they died. The catch? They've all been raped beforehand. Are they linked? Its up to our trusty CSI's to figure it out!

**Pairing:** A healthy dose of Catherine/Grissom eventually. Probably more so as we get further in. I haven't figured out if I'll put other romances in it (like for Sara, Nick or Warrick) 

**Distribution:** ask and ye shall receive especially if the rating's too high I'll e-mail the story without those bits. 

**Rating:** starts out PG (mostly because of talk of rape and other dark stuff not good for little kiddies) but subject to change… soon.

**Disclaimer:** They're not mine. I swear. Some of the characters I may add in later and they are mine but all of the characters and areas you recognise I DON'T OWN THEM I SWEAR ON MY TEDDY BEAR!

~*~*~*~*~*~

Grissom and Catherine stepped out of the black SUV and looked up at he hotel. Catherine sighed, turning to the back and withdrawing the CSI kits.

"Twenty-four year old Ellen Bizet dead in her room. No one knows how, there's no traces of anything – blood more specifically. Its like she died naturally," an officer explained as he escorted the two CSI's up to the nineteenth floor. 

"Do we know why she was here?" Catherine questioned in the elevator.

"Not yet. We're working on that." They walked down the luxurious hall to suite 1906 and moved the crime tape out of the way. Catherine set her kit down beside the victim, eyes wandering over the dead form. She snapped on latex gloves and began her inspection of the body. 


	2. Natural

Chapter 1 

**Natural**

_"Something that has always puzzled me, all my life, is why, when I am in special need of help, the good deed is usually done by somebody on who I have no claim." _

_– William Feather_

Grissom and Catherine stepped out of the black SUV and looked up at the hotel. Catherine sighed, turning to the back and withdrawing the CSI kits.

"Twenty-four year old Ellen Bizet was found dead in her room. No one knows how and there isn't a trace of blood to be found. There was a struggle in the other room, but it looks like she died naturally," an officer explained as he escorted the two CSI's up to the nineteenth floor. 

"Do we know why she was here?" Catherine questioned in the elevator.

"Not yet. We're working on that." They walked down the luxurious hall to suite 1906 and crossed the yellow crime tape. Catherine and Grissom split up without a word, focused completely on their job. Catherine set her kit down beside the victim, eyes wandering over the dead form. She snapped on latex gloves and began her inspection of the body. A quick overview yielded nothing and so, Catherine was forced to slowly go over every inch of the poor woman's body. Her search yielded nothing yet again. It was disappointing really, that she didn't find anything. She dusted the hard tile floor around the prone body to check for prints. This time she found one.

"Cath? You might want to come and take a look at this," she heard Grissom's voice from the other room. With one look at the rumpled bed sheets and scattered clothing, Catherine had an idea of where Grissom was going to go. Without a word, she crouched beside a pile of blue satin and took a more thorough look at the pyjama pants the satin turned out to be. They were ripped in several places.

"Gil, they're ripped."

"They're pyjamas. She wasn't wearing them when she died, that much is obvious."

"Still, we'll take them and the sheets to processing. You never know what we could find." Catherine gathered the pyjamas and turned to find Grissom staring, watching. A witty comment was on the tip of her tongue but instead of vocalizing it she moved to the other side of the bed and tugged on the sheet. 

"I could do with a little help." Grissom jumped at the sound of her voice and dropped to his knees to un-tuck the sheet. His knee landed on something round and hard. Wordlessly, though with a slight wince, he picked up the small dart.

"Tranquilizer dart," he said holding it up to Catherine's line of vision. Catherine rolled up the sheets into a pile before joining him on the other side. She carefully took the dart from his light grasp and inspected it careful not to prick herself on the tip.

"Was tranquilizer in it? At twenty-four she didn't die of natural causes," she pointed out.

"Greg certainly has his work cut out for him then, doesn't he?" Grissom said, more of a statement than a question, but she nodded anyway. They made their way out of the crime scene and back down to the lobby. Catherine made one stop, to gather security tapes, before they both headed out to the SUV once again. Catherine glanced at her watch, wondering how the rest of their team was doing on their own respective cases.

"We'll get an update as soon as we get back to the lab," Grissom said, as if reading her mind. She smiled slightly, realizing it must have been written all over her face. 

"I still worry. Their cases seem harder than ours. She was raped and probably died of shock," Catherine said with a shrug.

"Then what about the dart?" Grissom asked, a smug note slipping into his voice. Catherine pondered that a minute.

"We still don't know what was in the dart. It could very well have been something that would make her pass out to make his job easier," she answered. Grissom nodded.

"When do you have to pick up Lindsey?" The sudden change of topic startled Catherine for a moment.

"7:30 to get her to school on time. Why do you ask?" She eyed him for a minute before turning back to the road in front. When there was no answer she turned to look at him.

"Gil?"

"What time Catherine?" He seemed annoyed and he was repeating his earlier question.

"7:30, I just told you that." She was becoming more confused by the minute. "Is there something you wanted to do?" Grissom seemed to ponder that for a moment before shaking his head.

"What is wrong with you? This is the umpteenth time that you haven't heard what some one says," Catherine said finally, her exasperation seeming to get the better of her. 

"Nothing is wrong with me, Catherine."

"Something is wrong. I have known you how long, and I can tell when something is bothering you. Come on, Gil, it's me you're talking to. What is going on?" If he was surprised at her outburst, he didn't show it. Instead, he continued to watch the road silently. She was fed up with trying to break though. It was exhausting for her and she was sick of exhausting herself when he didn't want to share, to feel better. She let out an exasperated breath and turned to look out the window. He pulled into the CSI lab parking lot and turned off the car. Catherine moved to get out, but he stopped her with a gentle grip on her arm. She tried not to acknowledge the shivers and sparks that ran up and down her spine from the contact as she met his eyes. 

"Cath I… I'm sorry for not sharing… It's not an easy…" But she cut him off.

"If you don't want to share it Grissom, fine. I'm sick of trying to break through your sixty mile thick walls," she said, trying in vain to pull her arm out of his grip. She was strong, but his grip had tightened with her frustrated words. 

"I want to tell you Catherine." His voice was quiet, which was what convinced her to stay and listen than the fact that he was going to tell her.

"Well?" He took a deep breath at her prodding.

"I'm going into surgery." He heard her gasp, having moved his eyes away before telling her. 

"Wha…? Why? What's wrong?" To say Catherine was terrified would have been an understatement. What could be so wrong that he had to go into surgery for?

"I have a hereditary hearing disorder that the doctors told me I could get fixed through surgery before I go deaf like my mother." Catherine let out a heavy breath she didn't know she was holding. At least it wasn't anything too serious, like a double bypass. 

"What was that for?" Catherine smiled at him slightly.

"I thought you were going to tell me you were going in for heart surgery or something much worse," she admitted. He looked at her strangely and she shrugged.

"You didn't give me much of a choice you know." He nodded slightly, considering her argument. She gently pried his fingers off of her arm and opened the car door.

"Gil? We need to get processing those pieces." For the second time in as many hours, Grissom was startled out of his thoughts by her voice.

"Coming." 

The lab was eerily deserted as they made their way through the halls. They dropped their evidence off in Greg's office before making their way to the break room for some much needed coffee. That's where they found their team and all of the other workers in the lab it seemed. Catherine glanced around the room. They were missing some one and the silence in the room reflected it. Then she looked to the screen. There was their missing team member. She gasped.

"What on earth is going on? That's a CSI, what are we waiting here for?" Grissom bellowed. The other members looked to him sadly.

"There's nothing we can do Griss," Warrick said carefully. Catherine stared unblinkingly at the picture. Without a word, she turned and left. She could hear Grissom yelling at Nick, Warrick and the others in the break room from the front door and couldn't help but feel the beginnings of jealousy rise in her veins. Sara Sidle would always be Grissom's prized student, but now, she was in danger. Sara had dropped, fainted at her crime scene and Warrick, who had been standing beside her, immediately called 911.__

_Thank God for quick thinkers_. She pushed open the glass doors, pulling her keys out on the way. She was headed to the hospital.

Meanwhile in the break room, Grissom wasn't quite finished interrogated the people seemingly trapped in there.

"What the hell happened?"

"She just fainted, Griss. No one knows why. They're checking her out at the hospital right now," Nick said carefully, as if treading on thin ice. He turned to look for Catherine, to check if she would go with him to the hospital but she was nowhere to be found.

"Where did Catherine go, now?" His frustration was beginning to show and grate on the nerves of the room's occupants. 

"Catherine and Sara were… are friends. She probably went to the hospital to make sure Sara's okay," Warrick answered. Grissom's nerves were on end. He didn't know where Catherine was and one of his best field agents was unconscious in the hospital. Without another word, he picked up his keys and left.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

And Chapter 1 is completed!! I tried not to make the end to cliff hangy but I'm sorry if I did. This is my first CSI fiction so please be slightly kind. I can deal with flames but I'd rather not if I don't have to.

_Next chapter:_

What made Sara collapse 

**Sara pushes Grissom to talk about his feelings with Catherine**

**Evidence leads to 2 suspects**

CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM IS WHAT I THRIVE ON!! If there's something wrong or something that doesn't fit, please tell me and I'll see if I can fix it.

See the little button? Press it and you can say nice things to me!

~Kavi Leighanna


	3. Connections

Chapter 2 

**Connections**

_"Always the innocents are the first victims – so it has been for ages past, and so it is now."_

_          -- J.K. Rowling_

Catherine pushed her way through the emergency doors to the nurse on duty.

"Excuse me, a CSI came in here a couple of hours ago, Sara Sidle…"

"Ah yes. Miss Sidle is safe and we have her stabilized," the nurse said, pulling out a clipboard and reading off of it.

"Is she in the OR a recovery room…"

"She's in her own room at the moment Miss…?"

"Willows, Catherine Willows."

"Would you like to see her?" The relief on Catherine's face was evident and so the nurse led her down a series of hallways.

"Here we are Miss Willows. She may be asleep." Catherine nodded and pushed open the door to the room. Sara opened her eyes startled when she noticed it wasn't a nurse or doctor, but co-worker.

"Catherine?" She cleared her throat. "What are you doing here?"

"You're collapse was on the news. Is everything alright?"

"Doctors say I've got something in my bloodstream. They're doing tests right now," Sara replied, a small tired grin appearing. "So it was all over the news?"

"When a CSI collapses on a scene, its big news," Catherine replied. "We're supposedly unshakable." Grissom strolled in just then and conversation ceased.

"My God. Catherine you're safe," he muttered under his breath, or meant to because Sara and Catherine caught every word. Sara just grinned and Catherine blushed. His eyes then turned to Sara.

"Are you alright?" Sara nodded.

"Doctors still don't know what made me collapse."

"You weren't drinking or anything beforehand?" Both women shot him a glare. He put his hands up in surrender.

"I'm a scientist. I look at all angles." The door opened and a doctor walked in.

"Miss Sidle…" he paused noticing the other occupants in the room. "Are you…?"

"Family," Catherine said quickly. Grissom shot her a strange look but Sara nodded her head. They were as much to her anyway. The doctor nodded.

"There was a trace of morphine in your blood. Any idea how it got there?" The room was silent, every one surprised at the news.

"Morphine?" Sara asked in shock.

"I'll take that as a no. Not enough to kill you… but I suspect there is a chance that if 911 hadn't been called so fast you'd be dead. It was almost as if it were leaking into your bloodstream. We were able to get it out of your system pretty quickly." The room was deathly silent as the three processed the news. Catherine was the first to gain her speaking ability.

"Thank you, doctor," she said. "If you don't mind, we'd like some time alone with her." The doctor nodded and left.

"A CSI was attacked… I was attacked," Sara whispered more to herself than the room's other occupants. Grissom preferred pacing at the end of Sara's bed. 

"Whoever it was must believe you're dead." Both heads turned to look at Catherine. She rolled her eyes.

"Think about it. We're all out on cases and Sara drops. Then the doctor tells us it was as if it was leaking into her system. If it was leaking into her system, whoever put it there in the first place must believe they'd done their job. The only other thing I don't understand is why morphine? It would take some good planning to get that into her system, especially since she was on the field."

"But it wasn't enough, and I don't take pain killers unless I absolutely have to. It still doesn't make sense," Sara said. Catherine shook her head.

"Its just a theory." She glanced down at her watch and sighed. "Sorry, I have to go pick up Lindsey." She stood.

"I'll come with you. Sara needs her rest anyway." Grissom said quickly. Catherine looked at him quizzically but let him lead the way out. When they were out of Sara's room in the deserted hall, Grissom stopped, turned and pulled Catherine to him in a bone-crushing embrace. Catherine jerked, eyes widening as she collided with his chest.

"God, Cath, don't you ever do that again! I didn't know where you'd gone, when I turned around you weren't there." She could feel him shaking – though, she thought, probably from his scare not from Sara lying in a hospital bed – and she was shaking too.

"I had a lot on my mind. Sara's my friend and she collapsed," she said pulling away and continuing down the hall. Grissom watched for a few more minutes as she turned the corner and headed back into Sara's room, defeated at the way she had shrugged off his worry.

Catherine put her sunglasses on, the early morning sunlight bright on her eyes. She quickly glanced back to see if Grissom was following and was relieved to see he wasn't. She slowed her pace to get into her car and started up the vehicle. Why had he been so scared when she left? It wasn't like she had to tell him everywhere she went. __

_Then again, with Sara collapsing like that, I guess he was scared I was going to do the same thing._ But even that didn't do to convince her that everything was okay in the mind of Gil Grissom. It just didn't make sense to her. True, they had been friends for years but why, all of a sudden was he worried. He trusted her on her own but… it really didn't make sense. She pushed her thoughts and theories to the back of her mind and focused on getting her daughter.

Sara knew something was wrong when Grissom walked back into her room. She looked at him, puzzled.

"You and Catherine have a fight?" Grissom shook his head. "You will tell her soon though right?" Grissom looked up at her, startled. Sara rolled her eyes.

"They tension between you is so thick you'd have to cut it with a chainsaw because a knife would break," she said.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Come on, Grissom! You're the one with a PhD! Think about it!" When he continued to be silent, Sara closed her eyes in a move to calm down her frustration. 

"You guys like each other! Just ask her out already," she said forcefully. Grissom looked at her.

"I do not have six heads and I'm serious. Everyone at the lab, okay maybe not Nick, can feel the tension between the two of you when you're in the same room, especially when you're in close proximity." Grissom was trying with his whole brain to come up with something to go against that, but no argument would come. 

"Do the whole lab a favour and just ask her to dinner. Maybe that will get rid of some of the tension and the rest of us can work in peace!"

"Mommy! Mommy! Mommy!" Lindsey exclaimed when Catherine walked through the door of her sister's house.

"Hey sweetie. Ready for some breakfast before school?" Lindsey nodded eagerly and rushed to gather up her toys and overnight bag. When she came back, Catherine said thank you and took Lindsey to the car.

"Mommy? Can Uncle Gil come with us? He hasn't been out to breakfast with us for a long time," Lindsey asked with all of the innocence a child her age could possess. Catherine thought about it for a minute.

"I'm afraid not, sweetie but how be I call him when I get home. Maybe we can all go out to dinner instead?" Catherine had a feeling she was digging herself deeper into a hole she had begun many years ago when she had fallen in love with the man, but it made Lindsey so happy. 

"Thank you Mommy!" Lindsey exclaimed from the back seat. Catherine couldn't help but smile at her daughter. 

Catherine returned to the lab as soon as she had dropped Lindsey off at school. There were a few things she wanted to take a look at. As soon as she walked through the door, Greg came bounding up to her. 

"Great you're here! Grissom's in working on the fingerprint you found but I found DNA." Catherine shot him a sideways glance.

"Semen?" 

"On the sheets. Not sure if it's the killer but if we can figure out who was with her that night…"

"But I thought she died of natural causes," Catherine said unintentionally interrupting Greg.

"You mean no one told you that morphine was found in Ellen's system? Doc told me not too long ago."

"Morphine?" Catherine was on the alert now. It was the same drug suspiciously found in Sara's blood. 

"It was, I swear. Why?"

"It was the same drug found in Sara's system." Greg stopped dead. "They've got to be linked some how. Who was the DNA from?" She turned to look for Greg. He was standing a few steps behind her in shock.

"Hello? Earth to Greg?"

"Sara had morphine in her system?"

"Says she doesn't take it unless she absolutely has to. I believe her." Greg nodded. "But who was the DNA from?" 

"A man named Scott Paolini."

"Any idea how he might have met up with Ellen? He's already booked for rape but maybe we can get him on a murder charge too."

"You know, Sara and Warrick's case seemed the same as Ellen's? Rape then death, from OD-ing too." 

"Catherine! We have a match for your fingerprint," Grissom called from behind, sticking his head out of the door. Catherine turned to Greg.

"Be prepared to finish this conversation later," she said before making her way to Grissom.

"What's the verdict?"

"Jack Banning. Now, before you go flipping your lid…" Catherine glared. Grissom ignored it. "I took the liberty of looking up a few records on Mr. Banning before I told you. Greg told me his lab results earlier so I already knew the two didn't match. He's a pharmaceutical chemist, specializing in pain killers."

"So you think he's directly related to the morphine in Ellen's system. Now the question is, since Sara didn't put morphine in her system, is he connected to that too?" Catherine theorized, her disappointment from not getting a match turning into new theories. Grissom nodded. 

"Okay, I'll go ask Sara if she knows Jack Banning and you can go find where he lives… I don't know, get a search warrant or something." Their eyes met blue on blue and neither seemed to be able to look away. Catherine's nerves were tingling from his gaze.

"Hey Grissom." Nick's voice interrupted and both jumped, moving away from each other. 

"You don't know when Sara will be back, do you?" Grissom looked up. His gaze had found something interesting in the floor when Nick had walked in. 

"No. Why?"

"She should see this stuff." Catherine spun to look at Nick, a smile gracing her features.

"And why, may I ask, should she see that?" she asked, indicating the papers in his hand. 

"Why do you want to know?"

"Because we're working on the same case."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I know, not a nice spot to leave you, but my Christmas break is here and I have two weeks to work on the third chapter. 

Right now this is all about the case but, you'll see later, that there will be tons of twists and turns in it! I have a lot planned for Grissom and Catherine!__

_Next chapter:_

**Theories are formed**

**Sara reveals her link to a suspect to Catherine**

**Grissom and Catherine fight over a request from Catherine on behalf of Sara**

**An arrest is made**

~Kavi Leighanna


	4. Relations

Chapter 3 

**Relations**

_"The pure and simple truth is rarely pure and never simple."_

_          -- Oscar Wilde_

Both men looked at Catherine as if she had more than just one head. Catherine, in reply, rolled her eyes.

"Greg was telling me that they were both the same. Both OD-ed and both were raped. The question is what did they OD on?"

"Morphine," Nick said immediately, now engrossed in Catherine's revelation. 

"Ditto. They're exactly the same."

"Still, wouldn't morphine take time to work through your system?" Nick asked. Catherine nodded.

"Now I'm not a pharmacist but I would say about… 20 minutes, maybe more."

"And it would have taken less time for some one to rape them. This could have been put in their bodies at any point. Timing be damned." Nick and Catherine were on a role, leaving Grissom behind.

"Does that make that much of a difference? Point is, the morphine could have been put in a drink," Nick started. Catherine shook her head.

"That doesn't explain the dart we found at the crime scene. Maybe Ellen was dead before her rapist finished," Catherine hypothesised. They made their way to the break room, Grissom trailing slightly behind, and set the folders and paper down on the long table.

"Has Greg analyzed the dart yet?"

"As a matter of fact, Greg has the results right here," Greg said entering the room. Catherine glared at him.

"Right, don't talk about yourself in third person," he recited. Catherine smirked.

"And in the dart is…?" Nick questioned putting every one's mind back on the case at hand. 

"Morphine… but not enough. I can see how there's the possibility it would leak into her system from the dart but then that would mean…"

"There was more than one dart," Catherine finished. 

"Exactly but Ellen couldn't have been raped and had two darts…"

"More than one killer," Nick supplied.

"Does the body support this new data?" Grissom asked.

"You sound like an attorney at a prelim," Greg mumbled.

"Nick can get on that. I'll go talk to Sara and you can get a search warrant for Jack Banning and Scott Paolini," Catherine said, ignoring Greg and gathering files together in her arms.

"And what are you going to do with those?" Grissom asked, the tone in his voice slightly amused.

"Sara needs to see these results for herself. I can't just tell her," Catherine replied an answering amusement in her own eyes. With that, she smiled at her colleagues and left. 

Sara looked up at Catherine's entrance, confusion written all over her face. Catherine smiled, dropping the folders on to Sara's lap. 

"We've made advancements in the case," Catherine said by way of explanation. Sara's confusion, however, did not disappear.

"Greg figures we're working on the same case. We're all working together now because of it. Both were raped and then technically OD-ed on morphine." Sara's head shot up and Catherine smiled slightly.

"Exactly," she said, knowing exactly what the other CSI was thinking.

"How?" Catherine shrugged at Sara's question.

"We've got many different theories as to how. Nick, Grissom and I went over a couple of them in the lab," Catherine said. "Nick is checking the body to see if he can affirm or disprove any of our hypotheses."

"Care to run one by me?" Sara inquired.

"I have other things for you to worry about. Like who is Jack Banning? Or Ellen Bizet? Or your own victim, Emily Turner?" Sara looked away, suddenly not able to meet Catherine's eyes. Catherine sighed. 

"Come one Sara. It could help us understand this guy's motives," Catherine pressed. Then Sara met Catherine's eyes. The elder woman had to bite back a gasp. The pain that was reflected there matched a pain Catherine herself knew, the pain of being abused. 

"Jack used to be my…" she waved her hands in the air looking for the right word. Catherine just nodded and motioned for her to continue.

"It was perfect for the first eleven months and then it started. Out of the blue. He came home one night, drunk out of his mind. I don't even know what I did to upset him, what I did to make him hit me but he did." She said all of this emotionlessly, not even her face held any emotion, as she was absorbed in the painful memories. 

"Let me guess. He told you no one would ever love you, except him. No one would be able to help you, except him. No one would care, except him. Am I making a dent?" Sara nodded, the emotion coming back into her face. 

"I of course believed him. Then it went too far. Finally he pushed me to leave, and leave I did. It was easier because Grissom offered me a job here, but he didn't take it very well." 

"I'll bet," Catherine said, taking her own walk down memory lane to her own days of pain and suffering. The difference was, Grissom was there for her. Sara, she suspected, didn't have that. Catherine let out a shaky breath she didn't know she had been holding.

"Now he knows you're here." Sara nodded at her statement.

"I don't know who the others are," Sara said, her strength coming back to her words. "He's involved." Catherine smiled, though slightly sarcastic.

"He's a pharmaceutical chemist. He'd work with morphine." Sara nodded again, her eyes having cleared from the pain of her past. Catherine had to admire her for that. She, herself, hadn't exactly put Eddie all the way behind her yet. Catherine stood to leave.

"Catherine? Please don't tell the others." Catherine turned and the small, scared Sara was back again. She sat back down again for a moment.

"Listen, Sara, you and I have a lot more in common than I thought. I'm going to ask Grissom to take you off of the case. I don't want you any more emotionally involved than you already are." Sara looked slightly surprised but carefully conceded. She hated giving up, being taken off cases, but in the same sense, she couldn't see Jack again. It would tear her apart. Catherine stood and moved towards the door. 

"Do you have anyone you'd like to see? I don't know if you should be here all by yourself with Jack MIA." Sara opened her mouth to reply then seemed to rethink. 

"My best friend, Amanda Bell, lives just out side of Vegas." Sara quickly scrawled a number down on a scrap piece of paper that had been sitting on the table beside her.

"She might also be able to help."

Catherine returned to the lab, the number safely tucked away in her pocket and a whole new perspective on the case. Nick was getting himself a cup of coffee when she entered the break room. 

"Get anything?" He jumped and turned, almost spilling his coffee. 

"Yeah, just a little something. A really little something." Catherine shot him a confused look as she set the folders onto the table and took a seat. 

"There's a pin prick in the side of her neck. Doc must have taken forever to find it. And yourself?"

"Much more than you think. We have a relation between Sara and Jack Banning. Might be the same relationship between him and the two victims." Nick looked at her in puzzlement. Catherine sighed heavily.

"I promised I wouldn't tell you. It's only on a need to know basis and, for her sake, I'd rather not tell. Where's Grissom?" Nick nodded towards Grissom's office. Catherine smiled apologetically and left.

Grissom looked up at the light clearing of the throat. Catherine stood silhouetted in the doorway. Grissom couldn't stop his mind from straying into places they shouldn't have been. She was absolutely beautiful.

"Come on in, Cath. Did you find out if Sara's linked?" Catherine nodded moving to sit on the couch in his office.

"And?" He turned back to his paperwork.

"I want her off the case." Grissom sighed heavily and looked up at Catherine.

"Cath, now's not the time to get jealous…" Catherine's eyes narrowed and he immediately regretted saying that.

"I'm not jealous, Grissom," she spat. "I'm worried for her own well being. You always try to take me off of cases involving children, well I want her off of this case involving Jack Banning." Grissom pulled off his glasses and lightly pinched the bridge of his nose.

"What does Sara have to do with Jack Banning?" He knew he was treading on eggshells now.

"I can't tell." Her answer was curt and he could tell she was still mad at him. His nerves had already been pushed to the limits with all of his paperwork and this rather difficult case. They snapped.

"Can't tell?" he hissed. Catherine met his gaze square on, not backing down an inch.

"And what if this is a matter of life or death? Would you still keep the secret?"

"Its something that she isn't comfortable discussing. That's why I want her off of the case."

"And if I refuse?"

"You don't have the best for your CSI's at heart." Her comment stung him and she could tell. It was a low hit, she knew, but if that's what it took to get Sara away from some one who hurt her that much, Catherine was prepared to do anything. 

"Sara's emotionally involved now, Grissom. Is that what you want?" He was out of his chair in an instant and in her face, but once again, Catherine wouldn't back down. 

"Prove it. Tell me how she's emotionally involved."

"I'm not going any further than telling you they were involved." That didn't satisfy Grissom and he showed it, he pushed a hand through his salt and pepper hair. 

"Damnit, Catherine! If it will help, don't you think she would want us to know?" Catherine glared at him.

"She knows it will help. She's been through a lot in the last two days, Grissom, including reliving a painful past. Don't you think that's enough for her?" Catherine's voice was rising with every passing moment and she pushed herself into a standing position.

"She's our best CSI. I can't take her off the case." Catherine stood to shut the door. The entire lab didn't need to hear this argument.

"Don't punish her for something I won't do. She deserves to not have to deal with this case, Grissom. As much as I know you hate to think of not having her on the case with us," she rolled her eyes, "its for the best that she's not."

"I am not attached to Sara, Catherine." Catherine raised an eyebrow.

"Could've fooled me. You're being extra protective of her spot on this case. If you really aren't attached, romantically, to Sara, it wouldn't matter half as much if she were to leave." Her voice was calm, but condescending.

"Are you sure you're not jealous, Cath? You don't usually push this hard to get some one off of a case."

"Fine, but when Sara's the next call we get, I'll be there to say I told you so." She stormed out. He immediately regretted the entire argument when the door slammed. Nick was the next one to enter.

"What?" The young CSI took a step back at the curt tone.

"Just wondering if you've got the search warrants. Catherine and I will take care of them if you've got them." Grissom shuffled around on his desk withdrawing the papers and handing them to Nick.

"Unless of course, you wanted to go with Ms. Willows." Grissom paused for a moment considering the chance he would get to discuss the fight with Catherine before declining. He wanted to pay Sara a visit.

Catherine and Nick climbed into the black SUV they were driving to the home of Jack Banning, Catherine still bubbling.

"Let it out, Cath," Nick said simply.

"I can't believe he'd do that! All I asked was that Sara be taken off the case for her own good, but no, of course not. She has to stay on only because I won't tell him why I want her off. You know the first thing he said was 'are you jealous'? I was going to kill him! She's involved emotionally and I don't want her to have to deal with Banning," she spat out the name as if it was milk way past its due date. Nick drove in silence as Catherine continued.

"Its not fair to have her involved in a case that involves her ex. It really isn't. I mean, look how I fared when I wanted faster results on Eddie's death, especially since Lindsey was with him. Now she's involved and he doesn't seem to care!"

"I don't think he understand where you're coming from, Cath," Nick supplied calmly. Catherine sighed in the seat beside him, suddenly defeated.

"I don't like yelling at him, Nick."

"I know, Cath. I know."

Grissom entered the hospital and walked straight to Sara's room. She was there alone.

"Grissom, to what do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" Sara asked, sarcasm dripping in her voice.

"What do you have to do with Jack Banning?" He got the same reaction Catherine had to the name, Sara looked away.

"I'm not discussing it. I'm guessing Catherine told you she wants me off the case?" Grissom looked slightly puzzled.

"We talked about it. Agreed it was for the best."

"I didn't know you two were that close."

"We went through similar stuff in the past. We're more connected than you think," Sara said calmly. Her eyes met Grissom's again, her strength having returned to her eyes and voice.

"Sara, we need to know and Catherine won't tell us." Sara smiled.

"She really didn't. Remind me to thank her." Grissom threw up his hands defeated. They weren't going to tell him.

"You're off the case," he said curtly and left.

Catherine rapped on the door to Jack Banning's house, Nick not far behind but it was Brass that called out.

"Open up, Mr. Banning. Las Vegas police." The door opened to reveal a man in his late thirties looking slightly petrified. 

"Police?" His voice was shaking. Catherine had to grin slightly.

"We have a warrant to search your place, Mr. Banning," Nick stepped in the papers in his hand. Jack Banning's eyes widened as he took in the papers and the CSI's.

"I didn't do anything, I swear!"

"We'll be the judge of that Mr. Banning. While they are looking through your house, I have a few questions for you."

"As do I," Catherine piped up, startling Brass. "But first, I get to look through your house." Her tone was sarcastic, residual anger lingering from her confrontation with Grissom. Jack Banning let them in and Nick and Catherine got to work on thoroughly going through the house. It was in the basement that Catherine found the jackpot.

"Nick! You'd better come take a look at this," she called. Nick was down in a matter of moments and grinned as Catherine stood beside a chemistry set, bottles and bottles of painkillers on the shelves beside.

"My, my. That looks like pretty convincing evidence, wouldn't you agree?" Catherine only smiled wider.

"That's not even the kicker," she said pointing to a corner where darts were piled. He was as good as caught.

They made their way back upstairs where Brass was waiting with Jack Banning already in cuffs.

"We're taking him in. Find anything?"

"Enough to put him away for murder," Catherine answered. Her mood had lightened considerably from the earlier argument, especially since all of the new evidence was conclusive. 

"You had some questions for Mr. Banning, Catherine?" Catherine nodded.

"You know Sara Sidle, correct?" He nodded.

"You dated her, correct?" Again, he nodded.

"You abused her, correct?" He paused, and then nodded. Catherine smiled, a slight predator quality to it. She left. Nick and Brass exchanged glances, shrugged and parted to their respective vehicles. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

IT'S NOT DONE! There's still a lot more to come. I've done some editing on all of this stuff, adding mostly, but taking away some things too. 

Also, I added a side story focusing on Nick and Sara. When you get a chance, and need something from Sara's perspective to understand, take a glance at _Blossoming_. 

_Next chapter:_

**Catherine brings in a friend to comfort Sara**

**Sara explains her past to the graveyard shift**

**Emotions run high**

Keep reading!

~Kavi Leighanna


	5. Amendments

Chapter 4 

**Amendments**

"When walking through the valley of shadows, remember, a shadow is cast by a light."

_          -- unknown_

Catherine and Nick were almost back at the lab when Catherine remembered her promise to Sara. She quickly dug into her pocket to find the slip of paper Sara had written her friend's number on, flipping open her cell at the same time. Ignoring Nick's puzzled look, Catherine dialed the number.

"Hello?"

"Hi, I would like to speak to Amanda Bell. Is she there please?"

"Speaking." Catherine took a deep breath.

"Catherine Willows, Las Vegas Crime Lab." Catherine heard a gasp.

"What's wrong? I…"

"Relax, Ms. Bell…"

"Amanda."

"Amanda. Sara Sidle asked me to call. She said you know her and might be able to help us out on one of our cases," Catherine supplied calmly.

"What's Sara gotten into now?" Amanda's tone was affectionate, like a sister. Catherine smiled.

"Sara will be fine, she just needs a friend who can be with her most of the time. She's been through quite a scare. She… collapsed on a scene the other day. Doctors found morphine in her system."

"Sara won't take pain killers."

"That's what she told me. Look, can you meet us at the hospital in say… thirty minutes?" Upon getting Amanda's affirmative, both women said goodbye and hung up.

"What was that about?" Nick asked, turning into the crime lab parking lot.

"Amanda Bell, friend of Sara's," Catherine replied, climbing out of the car.

"What's she got to do with any of this?"

"That's what I want to find out."

Catherine entered Sara's hospital room to find Sara and another dark-haired woman talking animatedly. Catherine smiled as Sara laughed. She cleared her throat.

"Catherine, this is Amanda. Amanda this is the woman you talked to on the phone, Catherine Willows." Catherine and Amanda shook hands with a smile.

"I'm guessing you feel much better?" The question was directed at Sara who grinned up at the blond. "I'll take that as a yes." Then she paused becoming sober again.

"Amanda, part of the reason I called to meet here was because I wanted to talk to you with Sara present. Did you know Jack Banning?" Amanda jumped at the name and Sara's eyes turned cold. Amanda glanced at Sara who nodded slightly. 

"I've been best friends with Sara for years. I knew Jack through work, both chemists. I thought they'd be perfect together. Judging by your question, Sara already told you what he did to her. I told him off the day after she left, and moved here. He came by my house and asked about Sara…" 

"He asked about me? What is his problem?" Catherine laid a hand on Sara's shoulder, silently telling the younger woman to keep quiet. 

"I, of course, didn't tell him anything. He got mad at me, went to strike out at me. I closed the door. He's been harassing me for a while now, about Sara, about my other friends."

"Those other friends wouldn't by chance be Emily Turner or Ellen Bizet?" Amanda's head jerked up.

"What?"

"Em and Ellen are dead. Died of a morphine overdose," Sara said. 

"We've got Jack Banning in custody for the murders," Catherine added.

"On what?" Amanda inquired.

"Many containers of painkillers and a pile of darts in the corner of the basement. We're hoping he can tell us something of his accomplice," Catherine provided. Amanda began pacing. 

"They were… really good friends of ours through school. We lost touch with each other for a while. I met up with them again a couple of months ago, right when Jack started harassing me about Sara again." Catherine nodded and turned to Sara.

"When do you get out?"

"Tonight, I hear. Why?"

"You owe the others an explanation."

Sara and Amanda entered the break room that night, Catherine guessed for Sara's emotional support. 

"Sara! Thank goodness you're okay!" Nick said, grasping her in a tight hug. Catherine looked to Grissom and noticed him staring at her, and not Sara. She turned a slight shade of pink and looked back at the happy reunion. Once they were all seated, Catherine opened the case file.

"I know, Sara, Grissom pulled you off the case," that was said with no little spite in Grissom's direction, "but I want… you should…" She motioned to Sara, who knew exactly what Catherine was trying to say. The two had forged an unlikely connection since Sara had confessed to Catherine about her past.

"I… asked Cath not to tell you guys what I was forced to tell her. Trust me, Cath, I thank you a thousand times for that one, but… you guys need to know. Catherine and Amanda both convinced me of that."

"Sara, stop and just tell us," Warrick finally interrupted. 

"Jack Banning and I were involved…" The rest of the story came out in a rush but each of the room's occupants caught and hung on to every single word.

"No wonder you and Catherine made a quite strong bond," Nick almost whispered, his mouth slightly agape in awe. Grissom's face was impassive, as it tended to be. Catherine rolled her eyes at his lack of emotion. Had it been her that had just told him this news, he would have flipped out, but it wasn't. It was torture for Catherine to watch in a way. Sara admired Grissom very much. He was her mentor and at a time she really needed her friends and mentors, he was nowhere to be found. Catherine shot an apologetic look towards Sara in terms of Grissom. She understood and shrugged lightly.

"Great. Now we need to go further into the case. Sara, I'm sorry to have to tell you that you need…"

"To testify, Grissom, I know. Thanks for the news," Sara finished sarcastically. Amanda shot horrible looks to Sara and Catherine.

"There's no way we can get her out of this, is there?" Catherine asked. Grissom shook his head.

"I'll be there with her," Amanda reassured. Catherine nodded her agreement.

"Thanks guys," Sara said.

"From what we've heard, he's still completely enamoured with you. We need to be extra careful in the courtroom. We, you, can't let him psyche you out." The room nodded solemnly at Grissom's phrase and the supervisor left. Catherine and the other immediately turned to Sara.

"I'm so sorry about him, Sara…" Sara held up a hand. 

"It's okay, Cath. I didn't… expect a welcome back or anything."

"You still deserved it. It's not fair…"

"Really, Cath. It's okay. I'm going to go and show Amanda around a little bit. I'll see you later?"

"Yeah. Save breakfast or something." Sara grinned and left, Amanda not far behind. Catherine turned the other way, towards Grissom's office.

"What is your problem?" Grissom sighed, knowing from Catherine's angry tone of voice he was in for one long lecture. 

"Catherine…"

"No way. You are so insensitive! All Sara needed was something, a family, that supported her. You did not give her that! You are her mentor and she needed advice. If it were me, Grissom, you would have been there to support me, to help me through the pain of the memories. Why doesn't Sara get the same treatment?" Grissom pulled off his glasses and set them down on the file folder open in front of him. 

"Catherine…"

"She's been through worse. I can understand that there is no way, because she's worked with and analyzed evidence, that she can get out of testifying but do you really think now is the right time to be telling her that."

"Damnit, Catherine, shut up!" Catherine took a step back shock registered on her face. Grissom stood and shut the door to his office, leaving the two of them to argue themselves out of whatever they were arguing about. Neither of them would have exactly been able to tell each other what they were arguing about, all Catherine knew was she was mad. He had withdrawn further from the team after Sara's collapse and Catherine felt… left out.

"I dealt with you through your ordeal. Sara's a little bit different."

"It's the same basic thing! Abuse! You've dealt with it before…"

"Catherine, you went through this yourself. You can offer her more support than I can. I have other things to focus on." Catherine shot him an incredulous look. 

"How dare you. Sara and I never got along until this case. I'm not her mentor, Grissom. I can't do as much as you think," she said. Her voice was quiet, dangerously so, but Grissom – much like Catherine would have done had she been in the same situation – would not back down.

"Look who you're talking to Catherine. Have I ever been good with people."

"Grissom, I have an eight-year-old daughter to take care of. I have other things that I have to do and I can't really take care of Sara and Lindsey. Lindsey still doesn't know…"

"Catherine, stop…"

"I'm no where near finished yet. Lindsey doesn't know what Eddie did when she was out of the house and having Sara talk about it will have her asking questions. Would you like to be the one to shatter her heart?"

"Cath…"

"I didn't think so. Maybe, Grissom, you should take…" She hadn't realized he was so close until his lips were on hers. She hadn't realized how much she had wanted to kiss him. The urge was definitely there to, but Catherine hadn't quite vocalized that urge. Then he had kissed her. Her whole argument went flying out the window as she concentrated the sensations that Grissom's lips were creating through her body. Her arms went to wrap around his neck and his gripped her waist like a vice.

The finally broke apart for air, gasping and panting, but a fire had been ignited in each of them and as soon as air had replenished in their lungs, they attacked each other again, lips and tongues dueling with fervor. There was a knock on the door and the two of them jumped apart. Catherine couldn't help but smile at the unkemptness of Grissom's hair and couldn't help but think hers were in no better condition. Catherine quickly fixed her shirt and hair before motioning for him to call in his visitor.

"Come in!" Nick entered and took one look at the two of them. Both were red-faced and panting.

"Man, Cath, I didn't think you'd take that much out of him. I didn't think Sara minded that much that he didn't say anything…" Catherine held up her hand.

"We will finish this," she said to Grissom, keeping a cool face in front of Nick, but even Grissom knew there were two different reasons why she wanted to finish this conversation with him.

"Go ahead, Nick."

"Greg gave me fingerprint results on the dart. They're not Scott's, nor are they Jack's. They don't match either of the suspects."

"Three suspects?" Catherine was stumped.

"Unless it really isn't Jack that was involved with the crime in the first place. I mean…"

"We found it all in the evidence in Jack Banning's apartment. How could he not be involved?"

"Warrick's questioning him right now. We're hoping to get something…" Catherine nodded and Nick left. She turned back to Grissom and lightly closed the door behind Nick.

"We have an argument to finish and a talk to have," Catherine said, substantially calmer than before. Grissom nodded.

"Which would you like to talk about first?"

"As much as I want to finish that argument, I don't want to be mad during our more conversation part." Grissom agreed and they sat themselves comfortably on the couch. His arm lay across the back, playing with the strands of her hair that were resting on her shoulder and Catherine had a hard time trying to keep her senses to herself. His fingers kept brushing her ear.

"Grissom…you need to stop that if you want to have a good conversation. I can't…" her voice trailed off when Grissom placed his lips on her neck. "Grissom, I'm serious…"

"And so am I," he replied, his voice muffled in her neck. She moved away, intent on discussing his sudden change of heart. He groaned softly at the loss of contact and Catherine felt a rush of feminine pride rush through her.

"What on earth came over you?" She couldn't help but smile.

"This… I'm not good with this, Cath…" Catherine smiled.

"Let me guess," her tone was sarcastic, but her eyes and smile betrayed her amusement. "With the morphine injections you thought of what would happen if I had collapsed and not Sara. That made you realize that you couldn't live without me… how am I doing."

"Fantastic, actually. Right on the nose." And to punctuate his point, he kissed her lightly on her nose. 

"Gil Grissom, I have never seen you like this!"

"Love makes you do funny things." Catherine pulled back to look him in the eyes. He seemed to realize what he had said and had the most embarrassed look on his face.

"What did you say?"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I know, I know. Brutal place to leave you but I think we all know what's coming next. However, that doesn't tell you much about Sara's part in the trial for her friend (weird twist too!) nor does it go over Catherine's past. __

Coming soon…****

**There's love in the air…**

**Catherine's past pain is relived through another and revisited in her memory**

**Some one is hospitalized**

~Kavi Leighanna


	6. Memories

Chapter 5 

**Memories**

_"In hora sunme inopis nostrae – in the hour of our greatest need."_

_          -- unknown_

Grissom couldn't believe what he had said. Then again, he hadn't believed that he had kissed her in the first place. She had looked so firey when she was yelling at him that he had kissed her and that was that.

"I…"

"Did you mean it?" He heard the note of desperation in her voice and faced her.

"With my whole heart," Grissom whispered. The smile that graced Catherine's face lit up her eyes so beautifully that Grissom leaned in for another kiss.

"I love you too, Gil. I love you too."

Before Catherine left that morning, she dropped by Grissom's office. He wasn't there, so Catherine went wandering through the lab to find him. She came across an interrogation room where Sara was receiving quite the beating. Catherine froze.__

_You're not important; no one will ever love you…_

_I will be the only one that could ever care for you…_

_I'm all that matters in your world…_

_You're a useless dirty whore…_

"Stop it! Stop it! Stop it!" Catherine screamed curling up in a fetal position under the window. The whole lab rushed to find who was screaming and found both Catherine and Sara on the floor. Grissom rushed to Catherine's side, pulling her tight to his chest.

"Some one check on Sara. I'll handle Cath." Nick and Warrick rushed into the other room and pulled an aggressive Jack Banning off of a very unconscious Sara Sidle. Nick dropped to his knees beside Sara.

"We need an ambulance!" Nick called to the bystanders. They all rushed to their offices, away from the trauma.

"Greg, get 911 on the phone," Grissom ordered. Greg started, then saw the blood and bruises Sara was sporting through the window. He quickly picked up Catherine's cell phone that was lying on the ground and dialed the number. Grissom, now that the crowd was gone, carried Catherine to his office and closed the door with his foot. He sat down on the couch with Catherine in his lap and pulled her tight against him as she cried. Her sobs wracked her thing frame to the core, and shook him as well. She couldn't get a breath.

"Cath, you need to breath, honey. You need to take a deep breath," he said softly rubbing her back.

"I…" she tried between sobs.

"Shh, Cath. Breathe first, talk later."

"God, Gil. I didn't even think about Sara being in that room. The only thing I thought of was me, All of the memories came rushing back…"__

_~Flashback~_

_"You know you can't leave."_

_"Eddie, I've made my decision and I've got the papers. This is the end."_

_"It will never be over, Catherine. I'm the only one that could ever love an ex-stripper." Catherine breathed in deeply to calm her raging nerves. Anger would do nothing in this fight._

_"These are the divorce papers, Eddie, and I don't need love to be successful."_

_"You do so, you whore!" Eddie screamed and lashed out at her. She took the shot in the temple and her head took the shock. She wouldn't fall, not this time._

_"For Lindsey's sake, I'm leaving, Eddie. She doesn't deserve to see her mother beaten all the time and she doesn't deserve to be beaten herself. If you really do love us both, you'll let us go."_

_"Damnit, never! You're mine, you're both mine!" His next punch hit her in the stomach and she doubled over in pain, looking up defiantly into his eyes. Catherine still didn't back down._

_"This has to do with that damn doctor, doesn't it? That Grissom!" Catherine couldn't believe her ears. He was accusing one of her best friends for the divorce. True, he had been a catalyst for the papers but Catherine had been thinking of the extreme action for a while now. _

_"He has nothing to do with this, Eddie."_

_"Mommy?" Little Lindsey was standing in the doorway, teddy bear in hand._

_"Go back to bed, sweetie," Catherine said soothingly._

_"But Mommy, you're hurt," Lindsey replied rushing to her mother's side and brushing at the blood on her temple._

_"Go back to bed, Lindsey," Catherine repeated. Lindsey shook her head._

_"You're hurt." Her voice, just as Catherine's would have, brooked no argument. Catherine sighed._

_"Get back to bed," Eddie growled at his daughter. Catherine's mothering instincts instantly threw a protective wall around her daughter… so to speak._

_"Leave her out of this, Eddie," Catherine pleaded as he reached for the blond head behind her. Eddie grasped a handful of Lindsey's hair and dragged her out from behind her mother. Catherine screamed as Eddie's arm came out to hit the young girl. One hit was all it took and Catherine lost it. One glace around and she grabbed the closest thing that would most likely not kill her soon-to-be ex-husband but knock him out. She hit him and he fell to the ground._

_~End Flashback~_

"Cath, that was a long time ago," Grissom assured her, remembered how she and Lindsey had both shown up at his door, Catherine slightly bloody and Lindsey bruising around the side of her face. He knew she didn't want any one else to know and had fixed up their room and given them the spare bedroom in his townhouse. The way they had clung to each other when he went in at the early morning hours – having given Catherine the night off to comfort her daughter – had terrified him. They were each other's lifelines and Eddie had come between that. He shook Catherine gently.

_"Cath, you need to eat, so does Linds." _Catherine's eyes had fluttered open, her brilliant blue meeting his and that, he thought was the moment that he had fallen completely in love with her.

"It doesn't matter, Grissom. What happened to Sara…"

"She'll be fine, Catherine," he assured her. Then her eyes widened.

"Lindsey… I… I need to see my daughter." He understood her fear, especially from the memory he knew was rushing through her head over and over again. He nodded.

"I will go and pick her up. You stay right here and I'll bring her back." He looked her in the eye and noticed the fear there; a fear that shook him straight to the bone. 

"I promise I will be right back, Catherine." He placed a light kiss on her hair and placed her carefully on the couch. Then he left, closing the door carefully behind him. Outside, he came face to face with Warrick.

"How is she?"

"She's not good. Sara?"

"On her way to the hospital. Again." A shadow of a smile flickered across Grissom's face before it turned sober again.

"Keep an eye on Cath. The memories she just relived gave her quite a scare. She wants to see Lindsey." Warrick nodded and carefully opened the door. Grissom left, grabbing his keys from his pockets and rushing to Catherine's sister's house.

"Uncle Grissom?" Lindsey's inquisitive voice greeted him sleepily.

"Hey, Lindsey."

"Where's Mommy? Is she okay?" Lindsey's voice had increased in tone and pitch with fear. 

"Your mom is fine, sweetie, but she really needs to see you. She's just been through a scare and she needs you to help her feel better." He could imagine Lindsey nodding at his words. "I'm on my way to come and get you."

"Okay Uncle Grissom. I'll get my stuff ready to go." They hung up. He kept driving through the Vegas streets, deep in thought. Sara's beating put him down a CSI… again and Catherine's terrified look would haunt him forever. He didn't realize where he was until he pulled into the driveway of Catherine's sister, Rebecca's, house. 

"Gil!"

"Aunt Becky, thank you for taking care of me… again." Rebecca turned to Lindsey who was standing in the foyer with her overnight bag, still in her pyjamas. Rebecca looked rather surprised.

"I don't…"

"I'm sorry. Lindsey said she was going to tell you. Catherine's had quite the scare and she needs to see Lindsey. I didn't want to let her drive. She's back at the lab waiting for her daughter. I'll get Cath to call you…"

"No, really Gil, its okay. I'm just… surprised." Rebecca hugged Lindsey tightly before shuffling the little girl to put on her shoes. 

"I'll get Cath to call you anyway. I'm sure you're worried about her."

"What was the scare?"

"Memories. Of Eddie." It was all that needed to be said. Rebecca knew, as well as Grissom that the only memory that still terrified Catherine was the day she had presented Eddie with divorce papers. Even Lindsey knew.

"Uncle Grissom? Can we go see Mommy now?" Grissom smiled down at Lindsey's question and nodded. They said their goodbyes and thank you's and left.

"Mommy?" Catherine's eyes flew open on the couch when she heard her daughter's voice.

"Lindsey!" The girl ran into her mother's arms, hugging her neck tightly and Catherine grasping onto her daughter tightly. Grissom closed the door, leaning against it watching.

"Uncle Grissom said you remembered." Catherine smiled, though watery, at her daughter.

"Yeah, baby, I did. I needed to make sure you were okay," she answered, pulling her daughter tighter against her. 

"I'm perfect, Mommy but you aren't." Catherine smiled at her daughter's uncanny ability to feel what her mother was feeling. Lindsey climbed onto her mother's lap and under the blanket Warrick had found for Catherine. 

"Just scared, sweetheart. I'll get over it."

"Uncle Grissom told me Sara got hurt. Is she going to be okay?"

"Sara will be fine. She's just going to take a little while to feel better. Maybe if I'm feeling better we can go visit her and bring her a present." Lindsey positively beamed at the statement. Catherine fell back onto the couch, pulling her daughter with her. Lindsey laughed, a sound that was music to Catherine and Grissom's ears.

"Cath? I'm going to leave you for now. We're going to go check on Sara and we'll be back. Do you want anything?" Catherine's eyes showed what she wanted better than any words that could have been spoken between them. However, Grissom knew better than you think about that with her daughter on her stomach.

"Can I have a milk, Uncle Grissom?"

"Of course you can sweetie. I'll be back soon. I have my cell phone if you need anything." Catherine nodded, pulling Lindsey closer to her.

Warrick turned to Grissom as soon as the lab was out of sight. The older man was driving and Warrick could see the tension in his face. 

"She'll be okay, Griss. Both of them will be okay."

"I've never seen Catherine so scared. She's seen some nasty stuff throughout her career and even then, going through other abuse cases and other brutality killings she's never…" The look in Catherine's eyes would haunt him for as long as he would be able to remember. Catherine had looked lost and alone. Two emotions that Grissom, if he had the choice, he would never see in her eyes again. Ever.

Sara had come around by the time Grissom and Warrick got to the hospital. She was in the same room she had been when the morphine had been found in her system. Her face was black and blue, both eyes black and bruises all up and down her arms. In short, she looked horrible. Nick was beside her bed, his hands held one of her now delicate ones. 

"Nick was just telling me about Catherine. Is she okay?" Grissom had to admire Sara. Even in intense pain she put others in front of herself. 

"Cath will be fine. She and Lindsey are in my office back at the lab." Sara nodded her head gently.

"Want to explain why you were in there without some one else?" His tone was light, to keep her from feeling that this was her fault in the first place.

"Some one else was there. There was an officer right outside the door but…" Grissom held up his hand to stop her.

"It's okay, Sara. The important thing is that you are safe. You'll be in here for the trial. Lucky you." Sara's grin was ecstatic and Grissom felt a ghost of a smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

"It was almost like practicing for me. If I could face him in an interrogation room, I could face him in a courtroom when I was proving that he killed my best friends."

"I see what Catherine meant by too emotionally involved," Warrick quipped.

"Emily Turner and Ellen Bizet were your best friends? Amanda's too?" Grissom asked. Sara nodded.

"So is he mad at you? They're all connected to you aren't they?" Warrick asked, catching on to Grissom's theory.

"Either that or they're connected to Amanda," Sara supplied. Amanda, who was sitting in a corner, stepped into the light. 

"I hate to trump your theory, Sara, but he has no reason to attack me. You, on the other hand, left him. He has more motive to attack you than me." Grissom looked to Amanda, a slight look of admiration on his face.

"You've rubbed off on her." Sara grinned.

"I try."

"I need to get back to the lab. Am I driving any one with me?" Grissom asked, turning to Warrick and Nick.

"I'm coming," Warrick said. Nick shook his head. 

The drive back to the crime lab was quiet, both Warrick and Grissom in their own little worlds. Their entrance into the lab, however, yielded many questions. Warrick took charge in fending them off as Grissom made his way to his office.

"Catherine?" he whispered opening the door quietly. He had to smile at the adorable picture mother and daughter made curled up on the couch together. Grissom gently shook Catherine awake, doing his best to leave Lindsey asleep. Catherine moaned quietly at being shaken but her eyes fluttered open.

"Morning sunshine," he said with a smiled. Catherine returned the smile sleepily, carefully pulling away from her daughter and standing on the floor. He drew her into his arms, hugging her like a lifeline. Her scare had terrified him as much as it had her.

"It'll all be okay, Cath."

"I know, Gil. I know.

"I'll always be here for you."

"Always?"

"Always."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Man oh man. This one was the hardest chapters to write partly because it has a lot to do with Catherine's past. Now, before I get thousands of reviews saying "Lindsey! How could you even think about mentioned abuse and Lindsey?" I had a really hard time deciding whether or not Lindsey should see her mother and father fighting and I hope it was clear that it was only one hit, only once. It was not a continuation nor did it ever happen again. __

Coming Soon…****

**Catherine voices her guilt to Sara**

**Happiness surfaces… for a moment**

**Catherine withdraws from her 'family'**

And stay tuned for the next chapter in the Nick/Sara story _Blossoming_.

~Kavi Leighanna


	7. Withdrawal

Chapter 6 

**Withdrawal**

"Sometimes destiny leaves us heartbroken, striving for the fighting chance to see what great things the fates have planned, and sometimes hopelessness is the only way to lead us to the inevitable… love is worth forgiving for."

_-- Albus Dumbledore _

_à__ from  _Love is Worth Forgiving For written by _arielx_

Grissom woke Catherine and Lindsey at seven to head home. Catherine had long since decided that Lindsey was not going to go to school but they still needed to get home. They couldn't sleep the day away in Grissom's office. Lindsey's overnight bag hadn't been unpacked and Catherine had nothing but her purse so they left. Grissom had insisted on driving them home and after a twenty-minute quiet argument – they didn't want to wake Lindsey up – Catherine had relented, considering the stupidity of the argument in the first place. Lindsey, needless to say, was very happy about Grissom driving them home and took the opportunity to half ask, half order, him to stay for breakfast. Catherine giggled slightly at the innocence Lindsey possessed and her ability to have Grissom wound around her little finger. He lifted Lindsey out of the SUV and settled her on the sidewalk as he reached in to get her overnight bag. Lindsey and Catherine made their way up the front walk pausing only to open the door. Grissom picked up Lindsey's bag and followed them into the house. He dropped the bag just inside Lindsey's room where Catherine was tucking her daughter in and moved away to sit on the couch in the living room. Catherine emerged moments later and flopped down beside him.

"She's asleep," she said quietly as he drew her into his arms. Catherine cuddled up to him, feeling safe and secure where she was.

"How are you doing?" Grissom asked, pulling her tighter against him. Catherine sighed heavily, the sound portraying her emotions better than words ever could. She was scared, frustrated and blamed herself for Sara's hospitalized state but at the same time, she was content in his arms and happy that her daughter was safe.

"Lindsey wants to see Sara," she said after a long comfortable silence.

"She's in bad shape," Grissom warned. Catherine lifted her head from his chest and looked him in the eye.

"I've had just as bad, Gil." Her statement made him shiver in the truth they held. She had suffered the physical wounds before, many times, but the physical element was not what her words were referring to. Catherine was referring to the mental and emotional wounds that Sara would take forever to get over.

"You'll help her through it Cath, I know you will."

Neither had realized they had fallen asleep until Lindsey wandered into the room and climbed onto Grissom's lap. He stirred, waking Catherine in the process. She groaned lightly, her eyes fluttering open to land on her daughter. Lindsey's smile was completely innocent and Catherine groaned again.

"What is it, Lindsey?" Catherine asked. Lindsey's smile got wider. Then she started humming a song under her breath and Catherine's eyes widened.

"Lindsey…" Catherine started, recognizing the song.

"K-I-S-S-I-N-G!" Lindsey squealed rushing towards the kitchen, Catherine fast on her heels. 

Grissom missed Catherine's warm body as soon as she had jumped after her daughter and fully woke, bolting upright on the couch and looking around for Catherine. He heard the laughter coming from the kitchen and smiled, wandering towards the fun. Lindsey was on the floor, trying to roll away from her mother who was attacking Lindsey with her agile fingers. Lindsey was squealing and Catherine was laughing. Grissom couldn't help but think of them as his family. Catherine finally looked up a huge smile on her face.

"She was teasing me first," she said childishly. Grissom grinned, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind. He gently lifted her away from Lindsey and helped Lindsey to her feet.

"I'm glad to see you laughing." Catherine looked confused before the memories of the last couple of nights came back to haunt her.

"Oh my God. We… we need to go see Sara," she said, walking to her bedroom and pulling on a new set of clothes. Her movements were jerky and frantic, and Lindsey and Grissom watched with worry. Finally, Grissom stepped in.

"Cath, Sara can wait. She's not going anywhere." Catherine looked up into his face and Grissom resisted the urge to gasp. There were many emotions running through Catherine's eyes, none of them were positive.

"Lindsey, can you do me a favour and get changed? We need to go and see Sara," Grissom asked. Lindsey nodded, the happiness that used to be in her eyes fading quickly at her mother's reaction. Grissom pulled Catherine into his arms, halting her movements. Then Catherine broke down again, tears flowing without any sign of stopping. She had thought of it as a nightmare, really, and hadn't considered it being real, especially when she woke up in Grissom's arms. It was, after all, something she'd always wanted to do.

Lindsey returned moments later and they piled into Grissom's SUV. The drive to the hospital was made in silence, both Lindsey and Grissom wanted to talk, but for Catherine, stayed silent. Catherine was lost in her own world, away from the reality she lived in and safe in happy memories. Lindsey hated when her mother was like this, it had happened before when she'd come back from a particularly nasty case, and Lindsey felt utterly helpless. There was nothing she could do to help her mother. 

Grissom, on the other hand, was worried about her physical well being, as well as emotional. Catherine wouldn't eat. She didn't have the appetite in her own world. It was like that world had no food, and so, Catherine had no appetite. He could try to do anything, next to forcing it down her throat, and she just wouldn't eat. 

They had one stop to make before they reached the hospital and Grissom and Lindsey were the only ones to enter the card store. Inside Lindsey's eyes scanned everything, trying to find the perfect gift for Sara. She found it in a simple _ty_ stuffed toy. The little, fuzzy Dalmatian reminded Lindsey of a rescue dog that were used in fire departments.

"And a rescue dog," she said, "is always brave." 

They climbed back into the SUV and Lindsey quickly signed the card for her and her mother. Catherine was still out of it all. 

That wasn't to say he admired her ability to put on a strong front with her daughter present, but Grissom knew that Catherine recognized Lindsey's knowledge of her pain. He was sure he saw Lindsey open her mouth more than once, as if to say something to them, but then closed it again.

"We're here," he said quietly, his voice sounding foreign to his ears. Catherine jolted out of her world and dropped back into reality.

"Sorry," she murmured, getting out and helping her daughter down the big step. Linking hands with both Grissom and Lindsey – the dog and card tucked safely under her arm – they made their way into the sterile building. Grissom led the way to Sara's room, pausing only to knock on the door. Nick's voice sounded, granting them permission to enter.

"Hey," Sara said weakly from her bed. Nick was sitting beside her, her hand grasped firmly in his. Grissom wouldn't be surprised if he failed to show up to work. 

"Sara, I'm so sorry…"

"Don't apologize, Cath. With my past, I would have done the same thing you did had I been in your situation." Catherine still looked caught, ready to bolt because of Sara's bruises. Grissom had never realized that Catherine blamed herself for everything that had gone on in that interrogation room, but now he did, and he vowed to himself to help her get out of that. Lindsey, sensing the tension, held up the dog and the card.

"We brought these for you, Sara." Sara accepted them gratefully and smiled fully at Lindsey.

"Thanks, Lindsey."

"The dog is one of those dogs that the fire station uses. Those dogs are brave. So I thought it suited you," Lindsey explained with childish innocence. Sara smiled, a tear coming to her eye. Catherine hadn't realized they had entered the store and felt tears welling up in her own eyes, not only for her colleague turned friend lying in the hospital bed, but in pride for her daughter's insight. 

"Cath?" She started at Sara's voice. "Are you alright?" Catherine's eyes darted from Grissom to Nick to Lindsey.

"Can you guys give us a couple of minutes?" Grissom looked worriedly at her but she tried her best to convey with her eyes her desire to talk to Sara about what had happened without them there. Grissom sighed, taking Lindsey's hand and dropping a kiss on Catherine's cheek.

"Why don't we go get a cookie, Lindsey?" Grissom suggested.

"I could use one myself," Nick agreed. The three of them left and Catherine turned painful eyes to Sara.

"Before you apologize," Sara began as soon as Catherine opened her mouth to speak, "for the record, I don't blame you one little bit for what happened. It was completely my decision to go in there in the first place."

"Was there an officer on duty?" Catherine asked, keeping away from the heartfelt and focusing on how Jack Banning could have possibly beat Sara as he had. Sara shrugged.

"One, but I wasn't going to give Banning the satisfaction of screaming. His voice was quiet anyway so the guard would have just thought we were doing the usual question answer thing. No one walked by until you."

"And I didn't do anything."

"You screamed which was more than enough to get people to notice that something wasn't right. Cath, if you hadn't come when you did, I would have been dead."

"And you wouldn't have been as badly beaten if I had the presence of mind to get you out of there." Sara sighed heavily, sensing she was not about to win this argument with Catherine. Instead, she moved on.

"I see this ordeal did something to put you and Grissom where you belong." The statement took Catherine by surprise but she couldn't stop the small smile from breaking through her cement walls.

"And I'm guessing Nick won't be at work until you get out." She saw red creep up Sara's cheeks and took that as an affirmative.

"He's been fantastic, Cath. I can't… he's been so supportive. My second support column, along with you. I swear he hasn't left my bedside since I got in here."

"And Amanda?"

"She's been here too. I just sent her home to get some sleep." Catherine shot Sara a confused look. Why did she try to get Amanda to go home and not Nick?

"I tried, really I did, but he _will not_ leave. Do you think Grissom would leave if you were in this bed and not me?" Catherine had to agree. She'd seen the worry flicker in Grissom's eyes and knew he had good reason to be worried. 

"Good point." Sara smiled. Catherine sighed.

"You don't have to apologize, Catherine," Sara said forcefully.

"It feels like it's my fault. It feels like you wouldn't be here if…"

"Damnit Catherine, stop! You've been through this, I've been through this and we're both stronger for it. These are not the worst bruises I have had and they will heal. The only major injuries were my broken arm and dislocated shoulder. They _will_ heal. I'll be back as good as new in no time." Before Catherine could argue further, Grissom, Nick and Lindsey returned, followed closely by Amanda. 

"Hey, Sara. How are you feeling?" Sara painstakingly pushed herself into a semi sitting position, wincing only slightly as she strained her shoulder. 

"Freight train, enough said." Every one in the room chuckled slightly.

"I thought I told you to go home and _sleep_," Sara said, directing the statement at Amanda. 

"You did, I didn't. My best friend is in the hospital and I'm worried. So sleep wouldn't come," Amanda replied with a shrug. Catherine watched the exchange slightly withdrawn from every one else around her.  Lindsey approached and wrapped her arms around her mother, grounding her. Catherine absently smoothed Lindsey's hair.

"Right, Cath?" Catherine jolted, catching Sara's eye. She looked disoriented for a minute. That minute was long enough for the room to become worried.

"Cath?" Sara said, pushing her self up further. 

"I'm… sorry. Didn't hear the point," Catherine replied on a sigh. Sara's smile contradicted the look in her eyes. She was worried.__

_Of all of the people to be worried…_ Catherine thought casting her eye around the others. A knock on the door interrupted the silence as Brass walked into the hospital room.

"Sorry to break up the party, but Sara, I'd like to ask a couple of questions."

"Brass…" Catherine began but Sara held up a hand.

"What do you want to know?" Catherine once again felt withdrawn from the conversation and backed out into the hallway. Lindsey and Grissom followed, Lindsey lightly gripping Grissom's sweater.

"Catherine?" Grissom inquired softly, speeding up his pace to catch her shoulders. "What's wrong?"

"I just want to go home, Gil." Grissom looked into Catherine's face, searching for a clue that may help him understand what exactly was bugging her. When he couldn't find it, he sighed, gripping her hand lightly and leading her and Lindsey back to the car.

Opening the door to her home, Catherine left it for Lindsey and Grissom and headed straight for the stairs. She was on a mission. Something had clicked in her brain on the ride home and she had to check it out. Everything had to be linked, Sara's abuse, Ellen Bizet, Emily Turner, and even Amanda. Catherine was determined to find that link, for Sara's sake. She opened the door to her attic office where she had put the home computer. 

It had been a joint decision between her and Lindsey to turn the room into an office instead of just a storage space and it now had two desks for writing and one with the computer on it. It was 'their' space and Catherine and Lindsey enjoyed their mini homework sessions spent there. 

Catherine made a beeline for the computer, flipping it on with nimble fingers. She had never been so relieved that she had remembered to hook her home computer up with as much of the software from the lab as she could. Her hacker abilities had been worn down since Greg and others had taken over from her when they were hired to the lab, but Catherine decided it was time to fix those rusty skills.

Meanwhile, Grissom and Lindsey were sitting on the couch, worried about the woman who had literally run out of the car and up the stairs.

"Is she going to be okay, Uncle Grissom?" Lindsey asked quietly, turning to look him in the eye.

"I'm sure she'll be fine, Linds. This is just something she needs to go and do." He knew he was trying to reassure himself as much as he was trying to reassure the little girl beside him that Catherine was going to be fine but she worried him. He had never felt emotions this strong where a woman was concerned but then again, he'd never – not in all of his years of comforting her – had he seen Catherine this withdrawn and upset. It tore his heartstrings to pieces trying to consider everything that had happened since they had gotten the call for Ellen's murder. It had all gone down hill from there. 

Lindsey snuggled herself safely into Grissom's arms, away from the demons that haunted her mother. She wished she could help, get those demons to go away and never attack her mom again, but even in her young mind, she knew that there was nothing to do but be there and hope things worked out in the end. For not only Catherine, but Sara and the others too.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

This took me forever to write! I'm hoping to get back on the case and work more on the evidence that Warrick will have found since Grissom and Nick are helping Sara and Catherine.   
Oh, and thanks to every one who reviewed. I have been so happy with them all especially since this is my first CSI fic. I hope you guys enjoy all of it and think about reading the Nick/Sara side story because it goes into Sara's perspective on the case and you don't just get what's going on in Catherine's head.__

_Coming soon:****_

Catherine pulls further away from the graveyard shift 

**New evidence is pulled up… and it doesn't point to Jack Banning**

**Lindsey tries to break through to her mother**

**Grissom shares his feelings**

Another murder leads to new perspectives 

Enjoy!

~Kavi Leighanna


	8. Expression

Chapter 7 

**Expression**

"If you go out there and give it your all no matter if you win or lose, you're still a hero."

_          -- unknown_

Catherine had been working for hours and pulled up nothing. Not only were Jack Banning's records completely clear, she had gotten a call from Greg that said the dart that she and Grissom had found did not match the darts that had been found in the basement.

"Mommy?" Lindsey's small voice sounded from the door. Catherine, without looking up, acknowledged her presence.

"Yes, honey?"

"Come have lunch with us?" Catherine sighed, putting down the two darts she was holding on the large table in the middle of the room.

"I'm a little busy, Linds…"

"You haven't eaten anything for… a long time. Even Uncle Grissom is worried about you."

"Cath, come on," Grissom's soft voice urged. She finally turned to face them and shook her head.

"I'm not hungry, Griss. I don't want to eat."

"And if you don't, you'll starve yourself."

"No." She turned back and picked up the darts again. Grissom sighed and directed Lindsey out of the room for a moment.

"What is wrong? And don't tell me it's nothing, Catherine. You haven't been eating, you're not talking to any one… Lindsey's terrified. Her own mother is ignoring her." Catherine turned to face him, intent on giving him a piece of her mind. She hadn't, however, taken into account his possible movements in the last couple of minutes. He was standing right in front of her, his eyes angered and betrayed. Catherine moved to the side, he moved with her. She placed her hands on his chest and shoved him away slightly. His eyes flashed with hurt at Catherine's obvious withdrawal and watched as she made her way to the other side of the table.

"Don't run away from us, Catherine. We want to help."

"You want to help? Catch the culprits who killed those girls! Put Jack Banning in jail for assaulting a government official! I'm not the victim here, Grissom, I'm trying my best to figure out the perp!" Her voice rose in volume with each sentence and Grissom tried his best to keep his own voice calm. It wouldn't help for him to yell at her now too. 

"Damnit Catherine, we're doing everything we can! But we as human beings need to sleep and eat! You can't have all work and you, of all people, should know that. How many times have you gotten on my case because I work too much? Don't you dare tell me this is different," Grissom's voice matched Catherine's in tone and volume. Neither was about to back down. He quickly moved to the other side of the table, grabbing her arm as she tried to run and swinging her back into his body.

"You can't pull away from me Catherine. I won't let you. Maybe the others, but not me." His voice had quieted substantially since the couple of seconds before. Catherine could feel some of the ice she had built up around her heart melting and she couldn't seem to get it to stop. 

"I love you, Catherine, and that's why I won't let you pull away." Even if she had wanted to tell him that she didn't love him – of course, contradicting herself – she couldn't lie to him. She'd never been able to. She looked up into his eyes and let down the guards around her heart, letting him see all of the emotions running rampant underneath: the pain, the anger, the helplessness, uselessness, and the pain of her memories. Yet, under all of that he could see her love for him and her concern for Sara. He pulled her close to him as tears welled in her eyes and overflowed onto his shirt. 

"It will be okay Cath," he said dropping little kisses onto her hair. "Everything will all work out in the end."

He felt her breathing even out and lifted her carefully into his arms. He turned to the door to find Lindsey, whom he had guessed watched the whole thing. With a reassuring smile in the little girl's direction, he carried Catherine down to her room.

"Lindsey, can you pull down the covers for your mom, please?" Grissom whispered. Lindsey quietly did as she was asked and Grissom laid Catherine in amongst the sheets. Turning to leave, Catherine's arm reached out and attached to his wrist.

"Stay?" The words were so quiet, Grissom thought he hadn't heard right. Looking down to Lindsey, he found her carefully climbing in with her mother. He followed suit, kicking off his shoes and climbing cautiously in behind Catherine. His arms wound around her waist, not surprised to find it slightly thinner than earlier. Catherine snuggled back into him resting her arm on top of his, subconsciously and wrapping her other one around her daughter. 

The shrill ringing of a phone woke him hours later. He quickly but carefully, and reluctantly, pulled himself away from the sleeping women and searched for the source of the ringing. He found it in his cell phone.

"Grissom," he said curtly, holding back a yawn.

"Finally some one who will answer the phone!" Warrick's voice came through. 

"No one's answering?"

"Catherine's cell and pager… no answer. I didn't try Sara, the hospital and all, and Nick's not answering his either. I even tried Catherine's house…" Grissom looked up to find Catherine's kitchen phone off the hook. __

_Lindsey must have thought of that while Cath and I were arguing,_ Grissom thought to himself.

"Problem?"

"Another woman found. This one's brutal, Griss. It wasn't just a dose of drug that killed her."

"What makes you think it was the same guy?"

"I don't. Look, just come, will ya?"

"Yeah, I'll see if I can get a hold of Catherine too." He hated to bring Catherine into all of this, but she would kill him if he didn't. Maybe he could convince her to pick up a bagel or something on the way.

"Great," Warrick replied, quickly giving him the address and hanging up. He turned around to find Catherine, he arms wrapped around herself, leaning against the door frame.

"What was that?"

"Warrick. We've got another dead girl." Catherine nodded solemnly moving to the closet to pick up her coat. Grissom stopped her, gripping both wrists lightly. She looked up at him, confused.

"Listen to me, Cath. You can go, on one condition." She looked at him expectantly.

"You have to eat something. I don't care if it's on the way or when we get back, but you have to eat something." Catherine glanced at him wearily. He wasn't going to give this up.

"Fine. We'll get a bagel on the way. What about Lindsey?"

"We'll drop her off at the crime lab on the way. I'm sure Greg would love to see her." Catherine moved back into the bedroom to wake Lindsey up and the two emerged moments later, unwrinkled. Grissom looked down at his own clothes, never more thankful for jeans in his life. 

Greg was more than happy to see Lindsey when she walked through the lab doors. He had immediately agreed to 'baby-sit' her while Catherine and Grissom checked out the crime scene. She sat silently in the Tahoe, watching the scenery pass by until he pulled into a small shop. She knew what was coming and had hoped he would forget. Unfortunately for her – in her mind but of course fortunate for her body – he remembered. He hopped out of the Tahoe and was back in moments, carrying with him a small bag. He handed one of the bagels to Catherine and pulled back out of the parking lot. The Vegas streets were rather quiet for this time of day as the Tahoe manoeuvred through the transportation grid. The small townhouse that Grissom and Catherine pulled up to looked well kept, organized, but as Catherine and Grissom located Warrick in the bedroom, they realized the interior was anything but. 

"Theories?" Grissom asked wearily. Warrick shrugged slightly as another flash from the camera in his hands illuminated the room. 

"You take a look and tell me," Warrick replied waving at the bed sheets, stained a bloody red.

"Brutal was an understatement," Grissom quipped, taking in the gaping wounds. Setting down his kit and extracting a pair of rubber gloves, he reached out towards the victim's face. Out of the woman's mouth, he withdrew a piece of white cloth. 

"She was a screamer," Catherine said, voice void of emotions as she too moved to inspect the victim. 

"Here's the weirdest thing: there are fingerprints this time," Warrick said, pointing to the bloody marks on the windowsill. Grissom glanced at Catherine, moving towards the prints.

"You photographed?"

"Yeah, they haven't been lifted yet," Warrick replied, another flash illuminating the disaster that had been a bedroom. 

"Who is she?" Catherine asked, thinking out loud.

"Lauren Bray," Brass' voice came from the doorway. "Haven't had a chance to ask Sara about her involvement with this one." 

"Don't," Catherine shot, much harsher than she had meant. Her emotions were strained with each new case and each wrong turn. Even with sleep, Catherine was still on edge. Silence continued to reign in the small bedroom, the only sound being Catherine's movements as she continued to inspect the victim. Then it registered in her brain – the silence. She looked up into Warrick's stunned face before quickly darting her eyes to Grissom and Brass. She rolled her eyes at their looks of shock.

"I want to talk to her anyway," she clarified carefully, a vague and yet completely descriptive statement. 

"Some one's getting sloppy," she murmured to herself, picking up a stray piece of hair that she had noticed on the pearl white sheet and dropping it in an evidence envelope. The rest of the room still hadn't moved, slightly stunned from Catherine's earlier lash. 

"I have two incredible CSIs in the same room as me, a police captain and yet all they can do is stare. As much feminine pride as it really does give me – to even consider you're looking at me as a female – I really can't process this scene all on my own." Her words jolted Grissom out of his shock as he moved once again to the window to lift the prints that Warrick had pointed out. Warrick quickly resumed taking pictures of the crime scene, periodically stopping to take a closer look at this or that. Brass left the room, content to go harass the potential witnesses. Catherine glanced around the room again.

"What do we know?" she asked, half rhetorically, half wanting to know what her colleagues thought.

"She was raped," Warrick offered, taking a picture of yet another ripped pile of satin.

"Our perp came through the window," Grissom supplied. Catherine moved beside him and shrugged.

"Or left through the window, all bloodied up," she theorized. Grissom had noticed that she hadn't spoken directly to Warrick or Brass since she had arrived, and was only talking work. Even on a crime scene, Catherine and Warrick tended to have their own little banter sessions. Not this time.

"Find the wound?" Catherine asked, turning back to the body. There it was again, asking – talking – only when necessary, and nothing more.

"Bloody leg, but we haven't turned her over yet," Warrick replied. Catherine pulled down the bed sheet that was covering the victim. There was a slash wound in her thigh, the blood, however, had stopped flowing, but didn't stop the pool from beneath her to show. To say she had died in a pool of her own blood would be an understatement.

"Get her to Doc Robbins. We'll process further then." Warrick nodded, leaving the room to find Brass. Grissom moved closer to Catherine. Gently pinning her arms to her sides, he pulled her upright and turned her to face him.

"They won't be happy." 

Catherine knew exactly what he had meant by that statement. When the team realized she was pulling away, they would not be happy with her at all. She was, after all, like the 'mother' to their CSI family. 

"Grissom, I'm here to do a job, and do my job I will," she replied, trying to avoid what she knew to be the underlying words. _Don't pull away._ Well, in truth, it was too late now, wasn't it? She'd already started pulling away, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to be let back into the folds.

Then, she reasoned to herself, she had never, in her how many years of doing these cases, been this involved, this attached to any of her work. Not even during the Strip Strangler. They didn't need to be burdened, and she, in a way, wanted to do this case anyway. It had the potential to give her some closure on her past. Dealing with Sara had the potential to give her closure.

Speaking of Sara…

"I'll go see if Sara knows Lauren. If she does, we've got a connection, though probably not with Jack Banning. I'll meet you back at the lab in an hour, no more," Catherine said quietly to Grissom, pulling herself out of him embrace. He caught her just before she exited the door, pulling her to the wall beside. There he kissed her, quickly but full of hunger and a promise. She found some sense inside her to file that promise away for a time when she would need the comfort. Right now, her mind was focused on Sara and her latent connection to the woman lying dead on her bed.

The talk with Sara had been quick, Catherine being smart enough to file her more personal questions away for another time.

_If I wasn't a CSI,_ Catherine mused to herself on her way back to the lab, _I would make a bundle off of abuse counselling._

She hadn't known a Lauren Bray. That put Lauren in a completely different category than Ellen and Emily. She stopped right in the middle of the hallway and turned back, towards evidence. Lauren could wait. She pulled down the box with the sparse evidence collected at the scene of Ellen Bizet's death. Even saying sparse about the couple of bags would have been an understatement, but Catherine was determined to find something useful. Something that would make of break this case…

If it was the last thing she did.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

There we go. I have never realized how hard it could be to write a mystery-like story in my life. I'm sorry if it's getting confusing – I kinda lost track of where I was going – but hopefully things will turn around.

I also realize I'm slightly behind in _Blossoming_ but I want to get this done first before working on the Sara/Nick side, just to get everything ironed out. Hopefully I will still have another chapter up in a day or two, though.__

_Coming soon**:**_

Catherine builds her shell 

**Lindsey tries again to help her mother**

**Lauren Bray's murder leads to new inspections of the murders of Ellen Bizet and Emily Turner**

Grissom opens up to some one unexpected 

Enjoy!

~Kavi Leighanna


	9. Healing

Chapter 8 

**Healing**

_"Maybe God wants us to meet a few wrong people before meeting the right one, so when we finally meet the person, we'll know how to be grateful."_

_          -unknown_

When Grissom walked into the layout room hours later, he didn't expect to see Catherine. That wasn't to say he wasn't happy to see her – he had wondered where she had gotten to – and he wasn't surprised to see what she was doing.

"Find anything?" he asked quietly, walking around and squeezing her shoulders. He almost winced at the numerous knots he found in the muscles. His thumbs moved to the base of her neck, working out the tension. Catherine closed her eyes and moaned in pleasure, dropping her head into her palms.

"God, Cath, you're tense," he murmured, moving to her shoulders and upper back.

"Got a lot on my mind," she mumbled in response. He hands moved down to her lower back and Catherine groaned loudly. Grissom's body temperature rose in response to her moans. He bent over, dropping butterfly kisses along her neck and shoulder. Grissom slipped his hands under her light blue blouse and Catherine's breathing shallowed.

"Gil," she breathed.

"Mmm?" 

"We shouldn't be doing this here." Grissom grinned against her neck when she didn't make a move to stop him from moving his hands to her stomach.

"Any one could walk in and we both have work to do," she forced out through the haze Grissom had created in her confounded mind. Her hands went to her stomach and pull his hands to rest on top of her blouse and held them there with her own. She tilted her head and captured his lips in a sweet kiss. She moved carefully away, putting a little bit of distance between them, but not out of arms reach. She needed – more subconsciously – to have him there, for reassurance. Her timing couldn't have been better as Warrick entered, a stack of papers tucked under one arm and his phone to his ear.

"That's great! Of course… 2 weeks, that's fast…good point… okay, see ya, man." Catherine raised a questioning eyebrow as he hung up the phone.

"Nick. Says Sara gets out of the hospital but isn't allowed to do anything with her shoulder for a couple of weeks."

"Days, knowing Sara," Catherine interrupted. Warrick smiled, nodding.

"Even then, with her cast, I don't think she'll be on the field for 6 weeks."

"That'll kill her," Catherine said, the amusement in her voice not quite reaching her eyes.

"And here's the lab results from the scene. They seem pretty conclusive…" Catherine nodded, moving and taking the sheets and envelopes from the top of the pile. The she noticed Ellen Bizet's name scribbled across the next set.

"This stuff?" she asked, motioning to the leftovers.

"From the other cases and Sara's stuff. Not much there, like we thought." He smiled as he cast an eye over the evidence on the table.

"Thanks, Warrick, this is great." Catherine turned to Grissom with the results.

"I'm going to use your office. Less of a chance I'll be interrupted." Grissom nodded, at the same time indicated to Warrick to inspect, carefully, the evidence Catherine was going to leave behind.

"I'll come with you," he said to Catherine. 

"Alright, but when I go to talk to Sara, I go alone." He reluctantly conceded. They relieved Greg of Lindsey on their way past the DNA lab and set her to playing with the toys she brought on the floor of Grissom's office. They sat together on the sofa, his arm wrapped loosely around her and his head resting lightly on her shoulder, as she perused the results.

"Mommy, are you and Uncle Grissom going to get married?" The question was innocent on Lindsey's part, but both Grissom and Catherine were taken by surprise. She looked to Grissom and shrugged.

"I don't know, honey," she responded honestly, opening her arms for her daughter to climb onto her lap. Grissom moved the papers and set them carefully just under the edge of the sofa. Lindsey scrunched up her nose.

"What about Daddy?" If the first question had Catherine thinking that Lindsey had noticed her relationship change with Grissom, this confirmed it. It also, however, threw her off guard. Had she ever discussed with Lindsey what would happen if another man came into her life? She looked to Grissom for help. His eyes conveyed his advice: _talk her through it_. He kissed her cheek lightly and squeezed her hip where his hand rested, before carefully withdrawing himself from her. 

"I'm going to check with Warrick. Come and get me when you're done," he said softly and exited the room, closing the door behind him.

"Mommy?" Lindsey prompted when Catherine didn't start.

"Lindsey, I loved your father. There was a time where everything was perfect, but then things changed." She paused, wrapping her arms tighter around her daughter as tears sprang to her eyes.

"He started hurting you, didn't he?" She sounded like a 30-year-old trapped in the body of a little girl.

"Honey, I don't want you to think of your father as a bad person because he hit me," Catherine said shakily, choosing her words carefully.

"I've known for a long time, Mommy. The night you told Daddy you were leaving wasn't the first time I watched." Catherine looked at Lindsey in shock.

"Daddy will always be my daddy and I will always love him for that, but there's also something that says 'Mommy needs to be happy too'. Uncle Grissom makes you happy, Mommy. Even I can see it in your eyes and hear it in your voice." Catherine couldn't believe this was coming out of her little girl's mouth. She sounded so much older, more mature.

"Would you like me to marry Uncle Grissom?"

"I want you to be happy. Its just a bonus that Uncle Grissom is the one that does that." Catherine hugged her daughter tightly as tears flowed down her cheeks. When her tears subsided, she wiped her eyes and smiled, looking down at the wet patch on Lindsey's pastel pink t-shirt.

"I packed another shirt if you want to change," she said. Lindsey nodded, jumping to the floor and pulling the purple one from her bag. They quickly changed the shirt.

"And you, me and Uncle Grissom are going to go out to dinner, right now. I need to get away from here." Lindsey smiled brightly and took her mother's hand as they went to find Grissom.

Grissom was antsy. He was waiting for Catherine and Lindsey to finish and couldn't seem to concentrate on the evidence in front of him. Warrick noticed.

"Griss, take a break. Go out to dinner with Catherine, talk anything but work." Catherine interrupted him. She poked her head into the room, Lindsey holding her other hand.

"Grissom, Lindsey and I are going to dinner," she said, knowing very well he would join them.

"One minute," he replied, sharing a glance with Warrick. Warrick shrugged slightly and Grissom set his evidence down. Resting a hand on Catherine's lower back, he quietly closed the door behind him.

"We'll take a Tahoe," he said, guiding them into his office. He picked up his overcoat and redirected them to the parking lot. He held open the door for Catherine , then helped Lindsey into the back. Catherine leaned her head back against the rest and clued her eyes, a small, genuine smile gracing her lips for the first time since this had all begun. 

"What are you so happy about?" Grissom asked, amusement laced in him voice. Catherine waited until Grissom had turned on the car and pulled out of the CSI parking lot.

"Lindsey approves." Grissom glanced at her, confused. Catherine only smiled wider, gripping his hand, resting on his thigh, with her own. It clued him in and he looked at her in shocked happiness. He then met Lindsey's eyes in the rear-view mirror. Her face looked innocent but years in the child's life taught him better. He waited until Catherine redirected her attention to the scenery before mouthing a thank you. Lindsey grinned, her eyes sparkling.

Grissom pulled into their favourite restaurant off of the strip. Catherine grinned, enjoying the happiness. 

"And we didn't even have to ask," she quipped, opening her door and moving to open Lindsey's. The tree were seated quickly, orders placed and food received in minutes.

"Being a regular has its advantages," Catherine had once said.

Catherine was firmly tucked against Grissom's side, Lindsey sitting across from them. He was eating with one hand. His other was busy making sure Catherine stayed close to his side. As if she was going to move any time soon! Then her cell phone rang.

"Catherine," she answered, wincing at the disappointment written all over her daughter's face. There was a pause on the other end.

"Hello?" Then an audible sigh.

"Cath, I need your help." Catherine placed Sara's voice immediately. Her internal alarms began to go haywire.

"What's wrong?" Sara sighed again.

"Amanda's got something to do with all these deaths. I asked her about the new DB…" there was a pause, "Lauren Bray. I didn't know her. Amanda did."

"And Amanda knew Emily and Ellen," Catherine affirmed. Everything was starting click in Catherine's head. She apologized to Sara for cutting their conversation short and promised to bring Grissom and Lindsey for a visit later. Grissom shot her a questioning glance when she hung up, but Catherine immediately began dialling Warrick's number.

"Warrick Brown."

"Catherine. I need you to do a background search on Amanda Bell."

"Sara's friend?"

"Sara thinks Amanda's the missing link. Look for medical records, a rap sheet, the works."

"Got it."

"I'll check in when I get back. Thanks." She hung up.

"Amanda?" Grissom asked stunned.

"No business during dinner," Catherine said firmly.

"But you--" Lindsey started.

"Gave the work to some one else. I could have done that research for myself, but I asked Warrick," Catherine finished.

"Because Warrick didn't have enough work to do already," Grissom quipped. Catherine hot him a reproachful look. 

"I have been through all of that evidence 8 times – I counted – and I didn't find a single new thing. There is no way he's going to.

"You're sure?" Grissom sounded disbelieving. 

"He can take a break," Catherine retorted, smiling brightly. Grissom shook his head, squeezing her to his body.

"You can be brutal, Cath. Exchanging work for more work. That wasn't nice." Catherine shrugged, then turned to Lindsey.

"So, sweetie, how have you been?" Grissom chuckled at Catherine's lame change of subject and Catherine elbowed him – none too gently – in the ribs.

"We've been together for the last 2…"

"I know Linds, but I haven't talked to my daughter for a while." Lindsey shot her a confused look.

"I've talked to the 30 year old residing in my daughter's body and I've been so busy I just haven't been able to talk to my daughter." That seemed to placate Lindsey and she launched into her previous school days.

"We have a talent show coming up and my teacher wants all of the students to participate in the class skit or do something on their own."

"So what are you going to do?" Grissom asked, taking the words right out of Catherine's mouth. Lindsey shrugged.

"I haven't really thought about it yet," she answered. "I don't even have an idea."

"I've heard you sing before," Grissom suggested. Catherine was surprised. She'd never known Lindsey to sing in front of any one but her. Lindsey seemed to consider this carefully. Catherine's phone rang again.

"Catherine."

"We've got a hit. I found Amanda's medical records. Nice long list over the last couple of years. You're going to want to take a look," Warrick's voice came over the phone.

"Okay," she replied, glancing at the empty plates, cups and the bill sitting on the edge of the table. "We'll be 15 minutes."

Grissom dropped a couple of bills on the receipt and stood, helping Lindsey with her light jacket. Once in the car, Grissom turned to business.

"Amanda, Sara's best friend, is our link? We all thought it was Sara."

"Before Lauren Bray got killed. I guess Amanda found out and told Sara," Catherine added.

"What did Warrick find?" Grissom asked, navigating through the early night traffic.

"Med records. Apparently, Ms. Bell has a long medical history," Catherine answered.

"Of what?"

"That's what I'm going to find out."

"And you're going to visit and help Sara and you're going to take care of Lindsey… are you sure you're not taking too much on at once?" Catherine smiled at his concern.

"I'll tell you if it all gets too overwhelming," she promised as he pulled into the lab parking lot.

"I'm… can I go play on Warrick's computer?" Lindsey asked from the back, opening the door and literally jumping down from the truck.

"We'll see if he's up to it," Catherine responded, taking her daughter's hand. Warrick met them at the door.

"Sara called and said Amanda was coming to visit. I want to nip this all in the bud so I'm going to see if Amanda will come in on her own," Warrick said, all in one breath. He handed the folder of medical records to Catherine and moved out the door.

"Warrick?" Lindsey called stopping him in his tracks. "Can I go too? I want to visit Sara."

Catherine shrugged – her form of an affirmative – and Warrick took Lindsey's hand. Catherine turned back to the file.

"Long medical history is an understatement," she said glancing at the files. "Extensive bruising, broken bones, shock. She was once brought in unconscious." Grissom took the folder from her and scanned the list.

"I'd know those signs anywhere."

"You would? I didn't have to look past the second line. Domestic abuse, left right and centre."

"So we know why Amanda was in the hospital. The question is, who put her in there?" They began to walk towards the layout room. 

"And is there a relationship between the abuser and the two other victims?" Catherine added.

"We're about to find out."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I know, not so depressing as the rest of the story's been. I was kinda sick of writing the depressing stuff so I thought, one happy chapter won't kill me. Anyway, its not fair… and as much as I wanted to write it, I couldn't make Catherine pull away from Lindsey not to mention that Lindsey was trying to get through to her mother. She found an interesting way to do that, didn't she!__

Coming soon…****

**A scientific break through brings the graveyard shift closer to catching the real killer**

**Amanda tells of an identical past**

**Catherine worries about Sara's testimony over assault**

**As Catherine tries to build her shell, the team slowly breaks it down**

~Kavi Leighanna


	10. Linking

Chapter 9 

**Linking**

In the real world as in dreams, nothing is quite what it seems 

_          -unknown_

When Warrick returned with Lindsey from the hospital – no more than 20 minutes later – he looked like he'd been beaten on the way there. He met up with Catherine in the break room.

"Next time some one needs to go to the hospital, one of you can go. It was brutal," he said, as Catherine took her daughter's hand.

"Where's Amanda?"

"In surgery. Seems some one recently broke her rib. She won't be coming in any time soon." Catherine shook her head.

"Good news," Warrick continued, pausing and looking at Lindsey. Lindsey took the hint.

"Sara gets out of the hospital tomorrow," she said excitedly. Catherine smiled down at her daughter.

"That's great to hear," she said.

"Where's Grissom?" Warrick asked, glancing quickly around the room.

"Paper work," was all Catherine offered in response. Warrick nodded in understanding. He knew better than to go and disturb Grissom while he was doing paper work. Lindsey, however, was much more mischievous. She was off Catherine's lap before Catherine had the chance to react. Grissom's office door was never locked and so, Lindsey opened it quickly.

"Hey Uncle Grissom," she said happily, perching herself on one of the chairs in front of his desk.

"Hello Lindsey," he responded politely. "How was the hospital?"

"White." He couldn't hold in a smile at her prompt response.

"It's easier to see dirt that way. And the people?"

"Sara gets out tomorrow but Amanda… not so much." Grissom was confused. Amanda had bee completely healthy when he had last seen her, only yesterday.

"What happened?" Lindsey shrugged.

"She was in surgery when we got there. Sara said she just started coughing up blood. There was some on Sara's bed sheets. The nurses hadn't had a chance to change them yet."

"Did the doctors say she was going to be okay?" Lindsey nodded. 

"Is it okay if Mommy and I go home now?" Lindsey knew that Catherine provided moral support for her Uncle Grissom when he was doing paper work, even when she was out of the room. She, therefore, also knew asking to go home was something he didn't want to here.

"If you want to," he responded finally, adding his signature to another form. Lindsey stifled a smile. His silence was enough of an indicator that he didn't want Catherine to leave just yet.

"Okay, we'll wait." She couldn't hold in her smile this time and Grissom, however belatedly, realized she wanted to see his reaction. Lindsey had always been too smart for her age. Catherine chose that moment to enter the room.

"Here you are. Hey, Lindsey, Warrick said he had some games you could possibly play on his computer. You had mentioned you wanted to play earlier…" Catherine trailed off as Lindsey bounded out of the room. Lightly closing the door, she turned her attention back to the exhausted supervisor in front of her. 

"My, my. I told you yesterday that some of that paper work should have been done," she chastised once again. It definitely wasn't the first time she was right about his workload, nor, he determined, would it be the last. 

"I know, Cath, but won't you give an old man a hand?" Catherine snorted.

"Me? Do paper work? Gil, I hate mine enough. What makes you think I'll pick up yours too?" He stood slowly, making his way over to her.

"I can think of a few reasons…" he started, backing her up against the door. Catherine looked up at him.

"I'm listening." He didn't say anything though. Instead, he swooped down to capture her lips. Catherine's eyes closed immediately, allowing herself to get lost in not only the kiss, but also in Gil Grissom. He broke the kiss and raised and eyebrow at her. Catherine grinned.

"Getting there," she responded to the eyebrow. He smiled and leaned down to kiss her again. When they broke apart moments later, Catherine had long since made up her mind.

"If it'll get us home faster," she said dropping down in front of his desk. He moved back behind it, handing her a few file folders to look over. Catherine rolled her eyes, opening the top folder.

"Next time when I tell you to get some of that paper work done before hand you will, right?" Catherine inquired, not looking up from the files.

"Of course, my dear," was his response. 

Grissom couldn't stop worrying. Yes, he hadn't known Amanda all that long, but she… a broken rib? It reminded him all too much of Catherine when she was still with Eddie. 

Catherine caught him staring at her when she looked up from the files. He looked pained, legitimately. Worry immediately washed over her features. She saw him sigh heavily and waited, hoping he would tell her what was wrong without her having to pry it out of him.

"Did Amanda go through domestic abuse like you and Sara?" he finally asked. It was really more of a statement than a question but it might be the only lead they ended up with. Unfortunately, Amanda was in surgery. Catherine shook her head.

"I wish I knew."

"Can we afford to wait? For all we know, you could be the next target, or Lindsey…" Catherine smiled slightly, shaking her head.

"Amanda doesn't know us all that well, Gil. There is no reason for whoever is attacking her friends to attack Lindsey or me. Nick will keep Sara safe when she gets out of the hospital tomorrow… Our team is safe, Gil. Right now we need to concentrate on who could possibly be the next victim." Grissom nodded leaning back in his chair and closing his eyes. Catherine took the time to just watch him, the worry lines very visible on his tired face. She needed to get his mind off of the case, if only for a moment.

"Gil? How did you know Lindsey sang?" Grissom shrugged at her question.

"I stumbled over it really. You remember last year, for your birthday, Lindsey wanted to bake you a cake and make everything in the house 'perfect' for your special day? She told me, while the cake was baking, that she wanted to sing you a song for your birthday." 

Tears sprang to Catherine's eyes at the happy memory. 

"So naturally I asked to hear it. She was nervous but she sang it for me anyway," Grissom finished the Reader's Digest version of the story with a shrug. Catherine smiled.

"So you suggested it for the talent show?" Grissom nodded.

"Then you'd better have booked the day off for both of us." She held up a hand before he could say anything, keeping him silent.

"It was your suggestions and she will be so crushed if you're not there. I would have asked for the day off anyway, you know that." Grissom considered this, pulling out a schedule for days off. 

"Three weeks?"

"Yeah."

"I think I can manage that."

"Great. I want to take Lindsey home. She can't miss another day of school, and shift seems pretty slow," Catherine said, standing and dropping the files back on his desk. Grissom also closed his folder, pinching the bridge of his nose where his glasses sat. 

"I'm coming," he said, stacking the folders in two neat piles on his desk and standing. Placing his hand on the small of Catherine's back he guided her out of the door, making sure it was shut and locked behind him.

Then came the dreaded beeping. 

Catherine groaned looking down at her pager. It was most definitely Brass with a new case.

"Do we have to?" Catherine whined softly. Grissom smiled, pulling out his cell phone to call Brass and check and see what this was all about. He sighed heavily when he got off the phone a few minutes later. 

"It's another one of the girls. We have to go, Cath, I'm sorry."

Part of Catherine was extremely frustrated that another night with her daughter and love at home had been ruined but the other part wanted to get this done and over with. The faster they could get the case solved, the more time she would have with both of them.

"Let me tell Lindsey," she said, voice impassive – not excited nor weary – and so Grissom let it pass.

"Parking lot in 10?" He didn't need the affirmation but waited for it anyway. It came in a nod and a smile.

"Probably less."

Catherine found Lindsey at a computer, playing games with Warrick right beside her, going over a case file. He looked up when he heard Catherine enter.

"You got Brass' page?" Catherine nodded silently, watching the back of Lindsey's head as she concentrated on the screen in front of her.

"Grissom and I are going to take care of it. I just thought I'd come apologize to my daughter for having to postpone leaving time." She moved and rested her hands on her daughter's shoulders, looking over her blond head to see the game.

"I'm okay, Mommy. I'm just going to finish this and then Uncle Warrick is going to help me pick out a song for the talent show. Uncle Grissom was right, I should sing for it." Catherine smiled proudly.

"I got your uncle Grissom to take that day off so he could come and see you," she said. Lindsey's face lit up, the reflection seen in the sudden black of the screen as the little girl finished one part and waited for the next to load. 

"Okay. We'll be back as soon as we can. I need you to get some sleep tonight though, okay? You need to go to school tomorrow." Lindsey nodded mutely and Catherine turned to Warrick to make sure some one would watch over her daughter. He too, nodded.

"I don't have any pressing cases so I'll stay with her." Catherine smiled, kissing her daughter on the cheek. Greg chose that moment to skip into the room.

"Can we help you Greg?"

"Nah. I just heard that Lindsey was here and I need a little bit of help in the lab…" Lindsey was out of her chair in an instant and at Greg's side, darting around her mother and Warrick.

"Be careful, both of you," Catherine said. Both of them rolled their eyes and left. 

"I'll get Grissom to give you the key to his office. You can leave Lindsey in there when she falls asleep." Warrick followed Catherine out to the parking lot and the Tahoe where Grissom was waiting. Catherine opened the passenger's side door.

"Can we leave your office key with Warrick? Lindsey's not asleep yet and I'd feel safer if she was in your office," Catherine explained, holding out her hand. Grissom nodded, removing the key from his chain. Catherine handed it to Warrick, who turned and headed back into the building. Catherine hoisted herself into the passenger's seat.

"This one put up quite a fight," Brass said upon spotting Catherine and Grissom. Grissom raised an eyebrow.

"Everything's askew, the place is a mess, backyard and inside." Catherine smiled at Brass' use of more complicated words, following slightly behind the two men as they made their way up the front stairs. 

"Victim is Anna Summer. Neighbours called it in when they heard smashing and screaming and then sudden silence. Those ones," he said indicating a young couple, "say they saw some one come out of the house at around 10." Grissom nodded, pushing open the front door. What he found inside was something he hoped he would never have to see again.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Sorry this took so long. I got caught up with other things and exams… stuff like that. Anyway, that's irrelevant, especially since this chapter is now posted! Hope you enjoyed.__

_Coming Soon:****_

**Clues surface from other investigations.**

**Greg pulls up a "lost" file.**

**Catherine worried about Sara's assault testimony.**

~Kavi Leighanna


	11. Discoveries

**Chapter 10**

**Discoveries**

_"Every moment of our life can be the beginning of great things."_

_          -Juan Mascaro_

To say the place had been trashed wouldn't have been doing the chaos justice. Glass was strewn everywhere, most likely from the glass table who's frame resided in the sitting room just off of the foyer. China was all over the floor, broken plates and bowls, some pieces bloody, others smashed to tiny bits. Grissom heard Catherine gasp as she took in the desolation.

And that was only upon first glance. When Catherine and Grissom moved into the other rooms, they found much more than they had bargained for.

The sitting room, where the table had been smashed, was Catherine's first stop, while Grissom moved into the kitchen to take stock of the cutlery. Her first glance made her flinch. Not only was the table broken, but what used to be a mirror above the fireplace was on the floor, the pieces covered in blood and all of the knick knacks that Catherine guessed had adorned the mantle were strewn all over the carpet in front of the fireplace. Framed pictures of family and friends were smashed all over the room as if they'd been thrown after a moving target and ash from the fireplace was on the floor. Catherine could already picture the struggle in this room, right down to how she must have thrown ash in his face to get away – blinded him for a chance of survival.

Much like Catherine, Grissom was not ready for the chaotic state of the kitchen. Cupboards were thrown open, for shield against the cutlery all over the floor. Bullets had embedded themselves in the back of the cupboards, glasses broken from the impact of the projectiles. The china had been thrown through the window that showed the occupant of the kitchen who was coming through the door into the house. She had been cooking, baking it seemed. Batter was all over the walls, finger and handprints where some one had pushed off of the wall and some shoeprints where the perp had chased after the victim. __

_She knew her attacker,_ Grissom mused, picking up a piece of the bloodied china and bagging it. _She'd been warned._

Meanwhile, Catherine had moved into the study or den where the desk against one wall had been toppled over and the television broken by a stray bullet. The CPU of her computer was still in tact but Catherine guessed some one had put their foot through the screen. There was chocolate in the room, on the walls and shoeprints of chocolate on the floor. Fingerprints were an affirmative. A blanket, that Catherine assumed had been folded nicely on the couch, was in a heap on the floor and the wooden coffee table had been overturned. Catherine shook her head, pulling the bullet out of the television and dropping it into an envelope.

Catherine and Grissom had silently agreed to leave the bedroom until last, so Grissom took the bathroom.

It was in neat shape, compared to the rest of the house, and it made Grissom believe that this was where she'd finally given up. Her energy having been spent and fear paralysing her muscles, she must have run into the room by accident, meaning to run to the bedroom. Blood was smeared all over the shower, two different sets of handprints distinctive on the tiled wall. He felt more than saw Catherine in the doorway.

"They started in the sitting room. Some one got thrown into the glass table or hit it by accident, but the broken mirror was purposeful. My guess would be she blinded him by throwing ash from her fireplace at him then, while he was down, whacking him with the mirror. He got angry and started throwing the nearest objects at her, pictures and memoirs," Catherine said, watching him inspect the blood.

"Then they moved to the kitchen where Anna had been baking before being interrupted. Before he actually entered the kitchen she was throwing dirty dishes at her, hence the broken china all over the foyer. He then pulled a gun and started shooting at her, missing but imbedding a couple of slugs in the cupboards and breaking glass in the process. I guess she tipped over the batter she had been making, I would say chocolate brownie and he stepped in it."

"She ran to the den next where he shot his last bullet into the television. She used her blanket over the sofa to cover his head while she made a run for it but not before her desk got over turned and some one sent their foot through the computer screen."

"They ended up in here where she gave up from fear and exhaustion." Grissom bent down to the garbage and pulled out a used gun cartridge. 

"So he held her at gun point and got her to strip. Then easily pinned her to the wall and raped her." 

They moved simultaneously into the bedroom. 

Except for the bed, the room was very much in order, no gunshots or struggle to be noted. The victim was lying naked on the bed and Grissom covered his eyes as Catherine quickly took pictures before covering the victim. 

"You can look now," she said.

"Now the question is, did he end it here or in the bathroom?" Grissom said, removing his hand from his eyes and slowly taking in the room. 

"There's blood all over the sheets but that doesn't help much. My guess is she knew her attacker. The others all had morphine in their system, right? What if whatever the morphine was in, wasn't ingested? What if some one had notified her beforehand to not eat or drink anything offered by Anna's attacker?" Catherine asked, standing to the side of the bed her hands resting lightly on the camera around her neck. 

"It might explain why she was able to put up such a rough fight," Grissom agreed, moving to stand beside her. 

"Right. Let's get all of this stuff back to the lab and we'll let David take the body for autopsy. The sooner I can get myself and my daughter home, the better." Grissom silently agreed and moved back to the bathroom to gather his kit and evidence. 

The ride back to the lab was made in silence, both thinking of what on earth had happened back at that house. They stayed in the Tahoe for a few moments after Grissom had put the car in park.

"Who's going to tell Amanda?" Catherine whispered finally. Grissom shrugged.

"Do we even know it's attached to the others? This guy was not worried about leaving behind evidence." Catherine had to give him that. They weren't sure whether this death had any link to the other three. 

"I'll go, just let me check on Lindsey," Catherine said finally. He glanced at her. She was looking out the windshield into the building ahead of them.

"Are you sure?" he asked. Catherine nodded.

"I want to make sure Sara's okay with going home. Yeah, she's had Nick with her the whole time but unfortunately there's only so much friendship, or love, can do. She's got to talk it out and you know Sara – no therapists allowed." Catherine got out of the SUV and headed into the building, stopping in the doorway of the DNA lab. Greg looked up.

"We put her in Grissom's office. She fell asleep maybe a half an hour after you left," he said, not needing to know why she was there. Catherine nodded.

"Grissom and I have some blood and chocolate batter for you to analyze." Greg perked up.

"Same serial case?"

"We're not sure. I'm just going to check on Linds then I'm going to pay a visit to Sara and Amanda," Catherine replied turning her back, only to turn into Grissom. She smiled and blushed slightly before darting around him and heading down to his office.

Lindsey had indeed been sleeping peacefully when Catherine poked her head into Grissom's office. Catherine, therefore, had kissed her head and left, intent on the hospital and the victims inside. She decided to first visit Sara. The young brunette smiled slightly when she saw Catherine enter.

"I hear you get out tomorrow," Catherine said in greeting. Sara nodded.

"Yeah, but it doesn't have the same anticipation. I was hoping to get out of here and not have to return for a long while. Since Amanda's in here now, the chances of that seem to be slimming."

"I'm sorry to hear about her. Where's Nick?" Sara rolled her eyes good-naturedly.

"I finally got him to go home to sleep in his own bed," she said. Silence reigned between the two women as Catherine tried to figure out how to go about the newest victim. Sara had closed her eyes and was leaning back against the pillows.

"Catherine, am I going to have to testify for assault?" Sara asked, finally breaking the silence. It was evident by the look on Catherine's face that she hadn't even considered a case for Sara.

"Oh my, I'm sorry Sara. I got so wrapped up in this case I totally forgot about the charges against Banning," Catherine groaned, dropping into the chair Nick usually occupied. Sara only smiled.

"There was another one?"

"We don't know. The house was in ruins, chocolate, blood, glass, broken… everything. Some times I really hate this job." Sara nodded, silently agreeing with Catherine's last statement.

"The nurse came in a couple of minutes ago and said Amanda was awake. I've already been down there. She won't tell me how a rib ended up broken and puncturing a lung." Catherine nodded at Sara's silent plea to try and help her friend. Unfortunately, Catherine also had other questions to ask the young woman.

"Sara…" she started, her face twisting in pain.

"Yes," Sara answered quietly, reading the emotions on Catherine's face. "Amanda was abused."

Catherine made her way quietly into the room where Amanda was staying. Amanda's eyes were closed, but flew open when she heard the creak of the floor. Catherine saw Amanda visibly relax when she registered who had entered.

"Expecting some one?" Catherine asked softly. Amanda ducked her head.

"Hoping never to see some one again, actually," she responded.

"Anything you want to tell me?" Catherine asked, pulling a chair to Amanda's bedside. Amanda looked away but Catherine could still see the internal struggle through the twitch in her jaw.

"It's safe with me, you know. We've already figured out you have been abused in the past." Upon Amanda's questioning look Catherine shrugged.

"Access to your medical records." Amanda nodded in understanding.

"I didn't… I didn't want it to come to all of this. I never thought that moving to Vegas would result in the deaths of my friends…" 

"Amanda," Catherine began on the release of a breath she didn't realize she was holding, "another woman died. Did you know Anna Summer?"

"I saw her a couple of hours ago, before I came to visit Sara. She was in one piece, I swear," Amanda said beginning to panic.

"We're not accusing you, Amanda. When Grissom and I got to her house, it was in complete ruin. We need a more exact time frame."

"I… I don't know… I left at maybe… 9."

"Okay, now, did you warn her about what happened to Emily and Ellen? She put up a fight, not like the others." Amanda nodded despairingly. 

"I thought she'd be able to get out of town, get away from everything that had happened because of me. Now," she sniffled, holding back tears, "she's gone too."

"Amanda, can you tell me anything that could relate Jack Banning or Scott Paolini…"

"Scott's in on this too?" Amanda's sadness turned quickly to anger. "He was like my brother throughout my life. Why the hell is he in on all of this?" Catherine leaned back in her chair with a heavy sigh. This case was turning out to be much more complicated than she had anticipated and it was very trying for her emotions. 

"Okay. We have fingerprints I'm sure Grissom is running through AFIS right now. Once we have those, maybe we'll have a better understanding of the case." Catherine stood and walked to the door. Amanda stopped her there.

"Make sure Sara stays safe," she said quietly. Catherine smiled, nodded, and left.

AFIS was still running the prints when Catherine returned and so she resigned herself to reviewing the scarce evidence from the other murder scenes to see if she could pick up anything unnatural. 

"Cath, you need a break," Grissom said, entering the room and catching sight of her. Catherine shrugged, moving to another photo of their first scene. 

"I'm trying to figure out how the lethal dose of morphine got into their systems. We found a dart, yippee, hooray, but we still haven't been able to prove that's the tool that killed the girls. Even so, have we gotten fingerprints off of it?" Grissom took a seat in the chair beside her, glancing at each of the pictures as Catherine shuffled through them. 

"We've got nothing."

"Oh, contraire, madam. I finished with your dart, finally," Greg said, standing across from them. "Morphine in the dart, technically a match to the morphine in your vics. Got a couple prints too." He set the test results and print papers down on the table. Grissom picked them up while Catherine grinned.

"Greg, you are amazing," she said, her gaze shifting from Grissom to Greg and back again.

"Yeah, I know. Anything else?" Before either Greg or Grissom could reply, Warrick entered.

"Gris, Cath, your print came up in AFIS. An Anthony Lopez."

"Today seems to be the day of discoveries," Grissom quipped standing with Catherine and following Warrick out of the room. 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Okay, I'm slowly unravelling this and its half starting to get on my nerves. Anyway, should be another chapter up really soon and I have another, different story. But I need to know if I should be putting it up.

Hope you enjoyed this chapter!__

Coming soon…**** Buried in evidence, an accomplice confesses 

**Greg's "lost" file**

~Kavi Leighanna


	12. Twists

**Chapter 11 **

**Twists**

"_The deepest sin against he human mind is to believe things without evidence."  
__-- Thomas Huxley_

_-_

"How would you like to be a CSI for a couple of hours, Greg?" Catherine asked, turning to face the exuberant youth. Greg's grin split his whole face.

"Are you serious?"

"Not on the field, but I don't think they'll be enough of us to look up all of the information we need. This Anthony Lopez… we need full background on him. No exceptions, nothing is left out. Get it?"

"Got it," Greg replied with a serious nod.

"Good." Catherine turned on her heel heading back towards Grissom's office. It was time for Lindsey to go home.

-

"Lindsey, sweetheart, wake up," Catherine said, shaking her daughter lightly. Lindsey's eyes fluttered open and she looked up into her mother's face.

"Are we going home now, Mommy?" she asked. Catherine nodded and smiled.

"It's about time you did too," Grissom said from the doorway.

"We're going. I won't be back until next shift. I promise," Catherine said with an affectionate roll of her eyes. With a kiss on his cheek, she and Lindsey left the lab.

-

After pulling an unremembered number of shifts without sleep, Catherine was ready to collapse but there was an angry red light flashing in the general vicinity of the phone. Catherine groaned when she realized it was the answering machine. She waved Lindsey to press play. The message had been left at 8 pm. Catherine checked the clock: 9pm.__

_Grissom gave me shift off,_ she thought as the beginning of a little girl's voice floated through the house.

"It's Bekki calling, um… my mommy's in the hospital and I was wondering if I could stay with you. Mommy gave me a babysitter until 10…" Catherine erased the message and turned to her daughter.

"Let's go get your friend," she said with a smile. They started to walk down the street to find Lindsey's best friend. Rebekkah, who went by Bekki, lived just down the street. Bekki was out on the front porch with her babysitter and a book.

"Bekki! You can stay over!" Lindsey called up the driveway. Bekki jumped off of the porch and ran to hug Lindsey.

"Thank you so much," Catherine heard Bekki murmur. Catherine smiled when Bekki met her eyes, gratitude shining in her gaze. Catherine's smile dropped slightly. She'd seen eyes like Bekki's before and in the last little while. Lindsey and Catherine followed Bekki up the stairs. Catherine stayed to talk to the babysitter while Lindsey and Bekki went to get her stuff.

"Miss Bell called me at about four to tell me she wouldn't be home and to start looking for some one to take Rebekkah," she explained. Catherine nodded absently too tired to really register what the teenager was saying.

"Come on, Mommy!" Lindsey called, standing at the front door with a large duffle. Catherine stared at it.

"Her mommy's in the hospital," Lindsey reminded her, pouting. Catherine just nodded. Bekki came down moments later when her school bag. The three said goodbye and walked down the street.

"What happened to your mommy?" Catherine vaguely heard Lindsey ask. She saw Bekki shrug.

"She called Shaena from the hospital. Shaena wouldn't tell me what happened." Then Bekki turned to Catherine.

"Can I go visit Mommy tomorrow, Ms Willows?" Catherine smiled down at Bekki.

"We'll see."

"Mommy's been pulling multiples at work. She's really sleepy," Lindsey explained as they mounted the steps. Catherine swung open the door and allowed the girls in first.

"Catching the bad guys. My aunt Emily used to make sure they were put where they belonged. That was before she became a teacher," Bekki said proudly, preceeding Lindsey up the stairs. Catherine made sure all of the doors and windows were locked before heading up herself. Lindsey and Bekki were already in their pyjamas curled up on the floor of Lindsey's room.

"If you girls get to sleep early, after school you can visit Bekki's mommy, okay?" Both girls immediately hunkered down into their sleeping bags. Catherine smiled.

"I might not be there to pick you up though. It might be Uncle Warrick." The girls agreed and snuggled into sleep.

-

Catherine woke to harsh sunlight and an eerily quiet house. The silence was what made her check her alarm clock. The clock read 1pm and the alarm was off. She was sure she'd set the alarm before she went to bed and rushed through the house looking for her daughter. She couldn't find anyone upstairs and so headed to the kitchen where she found a note.__

_Mommy,_

_Bekki and I have headed off to school. We didn't want to wake you up because of the hard work you've been doing. I made peanut butter and jam sandwiches for us and we'll look for someone after school._

_Love always,_

_Lindsey_

_PS I turned off your alarm clock to make sure you wouldn't get up._

Catherine dropped the letter and rushed to call the school. The secretary affirmed that both Lindsey and Bekki had made it to school safely and Catherine vowed to have a long talk with her daughter when they next met. Her phone rang as soon as she returned it to its cradle.

"Catherine, thank god!" Grissom's voice floated through the receiver. "I couldn't get through or you didn't answer…"

"I was asleep. Lindsey turned off my alarm clock when she and Rebekkah left for school." Catherine replied, running a hand over her forehead.

"Bekki? What's she doing there?"

"Her mom's in… the…" Catherine trailed off, her mind returning to the words the babysitter said and Bekki had said.__

_Miss Bell called me at about four…_

_My aunt Emily used to make sure…_

"Catherine?"

"Bekki! Bekki's mother is in the hospital. The babysitter called her Miss Bell…. Gris, Amanda is Bekki's mother!"

* * *

I am so incredibly sorry that this took so long. I meant to put the next chapter up right after I finished the previous one but I never finished writing it until now. Anyway, I'm working on the next one as we speak and I'll try to get it up faster than this one.__

_Coming soon…_

**Bekki and the case **

**Greg's research results**

**Amanda's story**

-

-Kavi Leighanna


	13. Revelations

**Chapter 12 **

**Revelations**

_"All truths are easy to understand once they are discovered; the point is to discover them."_

_-- Galileo Galilei_

Instead of Warrick, Catherine and Grissom waited for Lindsey and Bekki outside of the brick building of Lindsey's school. Catherine got out of the SUV when she saw her blond daughter and her brunette friend.

"Mommy! I expected Uncle Warrick!" Lindsey said, wrapping her arms around Catherine's waist.

"I want to talk to Bekki's mommy," Catherine replied, leading the girls back to the car. Grissom waved at Lindsey through the driver's side window and Lindsey broke into a run.

"Uncle Gil!" Lindsey called as she threw open the back door. She bounded over the middle console to wrap her arms around Grissom's neck. Catherine and Bekki followed at a slower pace.

"Ms. Willows? Why do you want to talk to my mommy?" Bekki asked softly. Catherine stopped and crouched to Bekki's eye level.

"Your mom's name is Amanda, right?" Bekki nodded

"She's a good friend of my colleague's." Bekki looked curious.

"Sara Sidle."

"You work with Aunt Sara?" Catherine sighed and stood, taking Bekki's hand. The little girl was innocently proving all of her suspicions.

"Let's go see your mom."

-

The nurses were so used to seeing Catherine in the hospital by this point, they just smiled as she, Grissom, Bekki and Lindsey walked passed. Catherine waved Bekki in first, but Bekki grasped Catherine's hand tightly.

"What does she look like?" Catherine pushed open the door and walked in with Bekki. Amanda was dozing thanks to the drip from her IV to keep her rib and lung pains at bay.

"Mommy?" Amanda's eyes snapped open.

"Beks?" Bekki ran to her mother and after pausing for a moment to check on her injuries threw her arms around her. Catherine allowed them a few moments before clearing her throat, feeling Grissom's presence behind and Lindsey beside.

"Cath?"

"Bekki's staying with Lindsey, with us."

"I'm sorry." Grissom tactfully stepped in.

"Bekki, Lindsey and I are going to go help Sara pack up…" Bekki nodded, understanding the unasked question. They left, Catherine and Amanda stayed in her hospital room. After a few moments of silence, Catherine spoke.

"Want to explain?"

"It wasn't important and she was safe."

"Amanda, you know that's not what I'm asking."

"They always say your deepest darkest secrets come back to haunt you. She's that secret. Few know she even exists and fewer know she's mine. But I guess it's a small world that my daughter is your daughter's best friend."

"Why do I have a bad feeling that this has everything to do with the case?"

"Huh?"

"Our lab is looking at background for Anthony Lopez." Even the slight pink that had returned to her cheeks paled.

"He's Rebekkah's father," she said resignedly.

"Ah. Does she know?"

"About that bastard! Never. She's grown up without him and doesn't need…"

"Could she be motive?" Catherine interrupted, hiding her surprise at Amanda's quick change in moods.

"To…? How?"

"Is there anyway people could find out about her? Go to your friends to try and find her?"

"Why? I never asked him for support."

"She's his. Its leverage."

"I don't know."

"She can stay with me for as long as necessary and I'll see about protection at school, at least until we find Lopez." Amanda nodded solemnly.

"What did they say about you?"

"My rib punctured my lung and they want me to stay about a week. They re-set the bone with a pin so I have to go into surgery again so they can take the pin back out," Amanda explained, shifting against the bandages,. Catherine stopped her hand before she could itch her bandage.

"Don't. I speak from experience." Amanda grinned.

"It'll make it worse," Amanda shot back.

"Tell me about your daughter," Catherine implored.

"She's… so special… I almost got rid of her, you know, when I'd just found out I was pregnant. I didn't want anything that had to do with Tony. Sara, Em, Elle and Anna ganged up on me though and walked me through the nine months. Tony never knew, and quite frankly, I really don't think he would have cared. The night of conception was the only time he forced me into sex. Sure, he's hit me, whack me around, but he never forced himself on me until that night. I couldn't let her go once she was in my arms. Schott was there, holding my hand through the labour. He even held Bekki afterwards."

"So that's why he's in on this?" Catherine asked speaking for the first time during Amanda's story.

"I don't know anymore. I mean, I trusted Schott and the next thing I know he's working alongside Tony."

"Leverage?"

"Schott's got a family now. He's married with a teenaged son and a little angel for a daughter."

"We'll ask when we bring Scott in and when we find him," Catherine assured her.

"He lives part-time in Vegas. His wife and kids are here but his job takes him to California every winter for two months," Amanda said.

"You wouldn't have an address, would you?"

"64 Holy Oake Drive. Its where I sent my Christmas cards." Catherine nodded.

"Bekki and Lindsey are going to come back to the lab with me and we'll leave the two officers outside your room, okay?" Amanda readily agreed, knowing Bekki would be safer with Catherine at the lab than pretty much anywhere else.

"Mommy, are you done? Sara's packed and she's asking for you," Lindsey said, poking her head into the room. Catherine smiled and nodded as Lindsey and Bekki came bounding into the room, Grissom and a slightly disgruntled Nick following.

"Sara's in the waiting room," he snapped but looked chargrined at Catherine's frown and raised eyebrow. Catherine stepped out. Sara was sitting on a chair in the waiting room, arm still in a sling. She wasted no time.

"Amanda?"

"Supposed to stay for a week. Bekki?" Catherine watched the emotions flit across Sara's face.

"Bekki?

"Sara, don't. Amanda told me all about her."

"She could be motive, if that's what you're getting at," Sara replied.

"That was my first thought but that made me wonder about Paolini."

"You're sure he's in on this?"

"Amanda said he had a family, including a daughter," Catherine supplied.

"You think there might be a kidnapping? Why wouldn't he report it?"

"Maybe we should be asking him."

-

I wasn't until late into shift that Brass was able to find and pick up the elusive Scott Paolini. When he entered the interrogation room Catherine was seated comfortably, Sara hidden in the shadows and Grissom and Nick were behind the mirror in observation.

"Mr. Paolini, it's a pleasure to finally meet you," Catherine said, quickly drawing his attention away from the room. They didn't want him to know Sara was there.

"Sure." He took a seat in a chair, facing Catherine.

"We just want to ask you a few questions," Catherine continued, opening up the manila folder in front of her.

"Go ahead."

"I want to get to know you a bit better first. How's your family? Your wife? Your son? Your daughter?" He wouldn't meet her eyes as he mumbled an unenthusiastic fine.

"Come on, just fine?"

"Yeah."

"Alright then, how about your best friend, Amanda Bell? Have you talked to her lately?" Again a myriad of emotions flitted across his face.

"She's in the hospital you know. Punctured lung."

"A… Amanda?" Catherine shrugged.

"She's supposed to be staying a week."

"And her daughter?"

"Is staying with a friend." He seemed to deflate. Catherine stood and left, motioning the officer out with her.

"Why?" Scott jumped when Sara spoke. He spun in his chair.

"Sara?"

"Why'd you do it? You've got to know you're all but convicted of about four murders."

"Murders?" he asked after a minute. Sara rolled her eyes.

Catherine walked into the observation room just as Sara told him about the murders.

"You left him to Sara?" Grissom asked.

"They were friends. She'll probably get more out of him than I will," Catherine replied easily. She stood beside him, watching the interrogation.

"I don't know anything about any murders," she heard. Catherine rolled her eyes.

"Why? Did Tony take your daughter?" Every one in the interrogation room knew it was true by his surprised reaction.

"No."

"Don't play games, you idiot," Catherine mumbled. Sara opted for silence and staring. Schott sighed.

"He said he's destroy my life piece by piece, starting with my little Clare if I didn't. I didn't want to, Sair, you've got to believe me!"

"Then why didn't you come to the authorities?"

"He said he'd kill her if I did, if I told any one but Ali, or Ross, my wife and son." His hands were shaking violently now, and his eyes were starting to water. Catherine watched him break down, her hand finding Grissom's. She thought about Lindsey and how she would feel if her own little girl had been kidnapped. She shivered at the thought.

"We need the whole story," she murmured.

"You know the deal, Scott. Give us the whole story and we'll see about a lighter sentence," she heard Sara say.

"Tony came to me about a month ago…"

-

-

I wrote this one in class! Don't tell my teachers!

Hope you enjoy!__

_Coming soon…****_

**Story behind Emily and Ellen's deaths**

**Confessions**

**_And…_**

**_A sequel!_**

-

Kavi Leighanna


	14. Complications

**Chapter 13 **

**Complications__**

_"The dead cannot cry out for justice; it is a duty of the living to do so for them."_

_-- Lois McMaster Bujold_

"Clare hadn't come home from school when I got home and Ali was terrified. That's when we got the call from Tony saying he had her and he had something for me to do. I asked him if she was okay and he said she was fine, happy even. I wanted to talk to her, make sure it was really her but he wanted to know I was 100 with him. I told him I was going to call the police and he told me he'd kill her if I tried it. So I asked him what he wanted and he went off on this elaborate scheme to destroy Mandy. I don't… I didn't get why he wanted to murder her.

"Then he told me he knew about Bekki, about _his_ daughter. I froze. He continued rambling about how Amanda was a bitch and a slut for taking his daughter away. Of course, I was there for Bekki's birth and Mandy sent me Christmas cards once a year with Bekki's yearly achievements. I knew her first word, when she took her first step… I don't know how he found out anything."

"Scott, what did Tony ask you to do?" Sara interrupted.

"To kill them all. I was friends with them all too," he said, pain shining in his eyes. "You don't understand how painful it was to… to…"

"Why did you keep going?" Catherine heard Sara ask softly, the brunette's voice shaking uncontrollably. Catherine felt a lump form in her throat and her own shaking begin.

"He still had Clare and he told me he'd take Ali and Ross next?"

"Why Lauren?"

"What about Lauren? I swear I only had stuff to do with Emily and Ellen, And he was there the whole time. I couldn't get out of it. I haven't seen Lauren in… years."

"Anna?"

"Talked on the phone with her last week. I swear I didn't do anything to Lauren or Anna and nothing to do with you or Mandy. Sara, you've got to believe me!"

"How was everything supposed to go down?" Sara asked. Grissom's grip tightened on Catherine's hand.

"This is what we want," he murmured.

"Your Banning provided the morphine in little darts."

"Like this one?" Sara threw a dart on the table.

"Just like that. Gave me three of four for Ellen and Emily… each." Sara puffed out a breath.

"And me?" Sara squeaked out.

"Again, Sair, out of my hands, but Tony trained himself to use those things made of bamboo tribes use in the jungles." Sara nodded, looking away from him.

"Is that it? Can I call Ali? Tell her I won't be home?"

"In a minute."

-

Catherine turned to the two men who continued to stare. She rolled her eyes, brushing passed them to Sara who she wordlessly wrapped her in embrace. Sara shook uncontrollably in Catherine's arms; silent sobs wracking her small frame. Her first gasping breath broke Nick from his semi-catatonic state. He took Catherine's place, his arms wrapping around her tightly. Grissom's jaw had returned to its full upright and lock position, but he still faced the window. Catherine squeezed his shoulder.

"We've got more than enough to convict Banning and a confession to book Paolini. We have to wait for LVPD to pick up Lopez before we can talk to him and the girls are holed up in your office asleep."

"Nick's working on a 419 with input but no field work from Sara and Warrick is out at another scene. This is the only case for you and me," he replied, wrapping her in a hug that she reciprocated.

"Paper work?" she asked softly. Grissom groaned.

"I don't wanna," he whined childishly and Catherine chuckled.

"Have we talked to Banning?" Nick asked, wrapping his arms tighter around Sara as her shaking intensified.

"Not that I know of," Grissom replied warily.

"I want this to be over," Sara whispered watching as an officer led Scott Paolini out of the room.

"You should take a break," Grissom said. "Go out for a bit or something."

"We've got another case," Sara protested feebly. Nick murmured something into her ear and she nodded.

"We're…" Catherine nodded with a smile and they left. Catherine looked into the empty interrogation room.

"Banning?" she asked. He rubbed his hands up and down her arms as he considered her question.

"Are you ready to do another one?" Catherine shook her head.

"Get Brass and I'll stay in observation. I don't think I could look at him without wanting to beat his head in," she answered.

"Let me talk to Brass," Grissom said, laying a hand on the small of her back, keeping some contact as they broke from their embrace.

"How could they do it? How could he do it? Paolini must have known we had ways to keep things anonymous or he could have gotten a neighbour to call."

"It's a little late to be overanalyzing, Cath," Grissom said as they made their way to the front of the lab.

"Sir! You can't go in there! Sir!" A crazed looking man was stomping towards the, gun drawn. Catherine's eyes widened as he stalked up to them.

"Where is she? Where is Sidle?" he asked pointing the gun at the strawberry-blonde's head. Catherine gasped and looked straight down the barrel.

"She left," Catherine breathed, "five minutes ago."

"Where?"

"Freeze!" Jim Brass and a bunch of armed officers stood at the entrance to the lab. The man grabbed Catherine and ripped her from Grissom's touch. His gun was held to her temple and Catherine forced herself to stay calm.

"Sara left and didn't tell us where," she said, her voice sounding much calmer than she felt.

"Bull shit," he hissed. "Then where's my daughter?" Again, Catherine forced the rising panic to simmer and hold. She wouldn't give in.

"Drop the gun, Lopez," she said quietly. "You'll go to jail and never be able to see your daughter."

"You know where she is, bitch."

"Put the gun down, sir!" Brass called. Grissom stayed frozen where he was against his office door. He knew Bekki and Lindsey were sound asleep in that room and he didn't need them to peek out through the office window. Lopez couldn't see Bekki.

"Cath, I…" Greg stopped dead beside on of the officers. He noticed the threat and froze. Silence reigned as the officers pointed their guns at Lopez and Lopez with his gun at Catherine. Catherine's phone chose that second to ring, breaking the silence. Lopez waved for her to answer it.

"Willows."

"The hospital's in shambles and Amanda's dead," Nick's shaky voice floated over the line. Catherine's eyes closed and her posture drooped substantially, causing Lopez to tighten his grip on her.

"Okay, do you have your stuff?" Nick answered the negative.

"She's hollow, Cath. I'm scared."

"We'll be there ASAP, Nick, just hang on," she said and hung up. Lopez allowed her to clip it back on her belt.

"Nick?" Lopez questioned harshly. Catherine winced only slightly as he shoved the gun further in her temple.

"My boyfriend," she lied quickly, begging Grissom to understand through her eyes. His widened only slightly as he felt the doorknob turn under his hand.

"Hold on honey, I'll be in, in a minute," he said to the closed door.

"Mommy?" Catherine recognized Bekki's voice and forced her body to stay relaxed.

"Sweetie, go back to sleep. I just need to run this sample through DNA and I'll be right back," Catherine called back, silently praying Bekki wouldn't ask questions.

"Okay," came the soft voice as the door clicked shut again. Grissom watched Lopez's face change, turning predatory and threatening.

"Your daughter?" Grissom didn't answer.

"I'll kill her first, then your daughter," Lopez said, finger moving on the trigger. Things started moving in slow motion as Grissom heard a gunshot and watched Catherine crumple as Lopez's grip loosened. He heard two screams and his office door was tugged open. Lindsey and Bekki stood there, staring at Catherine's crumpled body. Suddenly, Lopez started to sway, he stumbled around to look at the Vegas ballistics expert, Bobby, goggles still on and gun still aimed at Lopez. Blood began to seep through the shoulder of Lopez's shirt as he collapsed from shock. The officers were on Lopez at once as Lindsey, Bekki, Grissom and Greg rushed to Catherine's crumpled body.

"Cath?"

-

-

What, you actually thought I'd kill Catherine? Not a chance!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter… shouldn't be too much longer until I'm done

-

One thing though, I receive a flame that only told me that this story sucked. That's great to know, really, but I also didn't receive any feedback. Why did it suck and what could I have done to make it better? That's a well-rounded critique, not just its sucks. Thanks.

-__

_Coming soon…****_

**What about Bekki? **

**Final steps to close this case__**

**_And…_**

**_Stay tuned for Blossoming and its finale!_**

-

Kavi Leighanna


	15. Uncertainty

**Chapter 14**

**Uncertainty **

"_The only thing that makes life possible is permanent, intolerable uncertainty; not knowing what comes next."_

_-- Ursula K. LeGuin_

_-_

Darkness began to recede from Catherine's vision and she groaned slightly.

"Mommy!" she heard Lindsey's voice call. She lifted her head, focusing on her daughter.

"God, Cath," she heard a voice breathe as she shifted to sit up.

"Slow." Her eyes finally focused on her surroundings, such was quickly followed by memory of the last couple of hours. She spun quickly and her head swam but she forced herself to focus on the collapsed form of Anthony Lopez. She looked for the shooter and found him as Bobby stood, talking to Brass.

"Bobby?"

"I was finishing up an experiment when I heard him shout so I came out and aimed," he shrugged. "Got his shoulder. He's in shock." Catherine smiled a more than gratitude thanks. Grissom helped him to stand and move to the couch in his office, Lindsey on her lap, Bekki on one side, and Grissom taking a seat on the other. Greg brought her a bottle of water and asprin that Grissom had directed him to find. Catherine took them thankfully then remembered Nick and Sara.

"Greg, can you find Warrick and get to the hospital? Nick said the place is in shambles." Greg nodded and left without questions.

"Catherine?"

"I'm just shook up, Gil. I'll be okay.

"Ms. Willows? Can we go see my mommy?" Bekki asked. Catherine flinched visibly.

"Linds, can you and Uncle Grissom go get me something to eat? I'd like to talk to Bekki." Lindsey nodded and took Grissom's hand. Grissom kissed her cheek lightly before leaving. Bekki looked slightly apprehensive.

"Bekki, that was your daddy out there," Catherine began.

"Mommy always told me he was a bad man," Bekki said as an aside.

"Honey, he brought a gun."

"That's why you didn't want me to come out earlier."

"Yes… sort of… Bekki, I don't know how to break this to you gently. Your dad showed up at the hospital before he came here."

"Mommy?" Bekki asked, tears in her eyes. Catherine looked heavenward before shaking her head in the negative. Bekki burst into tears. Catherine wrapped her arms around the little girl as she sobbed over the loss of her mother.

"I'm sorry, sweetheart, I'm so sorry." Catherine felt as helpless as she had for Lindsey after Eddie's death. All Catherine could do was to wrap her tightly as the little body shook violently.

"I'm sorry Bekki."

-

Bekki had cried herself to sleep by the time Lindsey and Grissom returned and even Catherine was dozing after allowing silent tears to slip down her cheeks.

"Cath?" Grissom touched her shoulder. Her eyes fluttered open.

"Gil! Lindsey!" She looked down at the little girl curled in the fetal position, her head on Catherine's lap. Lindsey gripped Grissom's pants.

"Traumatic?" he whispered.

"Did anyone tell you about the hospital?"

"I just got off the phone with Warrick. He says there are bullet holes everywhere."

"How many dead?"

"Two shot. A guard and a patient."

"Patient was this one's mommy," Catherine said softly, stroking Bekki's hair.

"Amanda?"

"Nick told me. It's destroyed Sara." Lindsey sat on her best friend's other side.

"She can stay with us, right?" she asked in a small voice.

"Unless her mommy said otherwise, sweetie, of course she can," Catherine replied without hesitation. Grissom took his seat on Catherine's other side, wrapping an arm around her shoulders, her head resting on his shoulder.

"She's too young to have to go through this, Gil."

"I know honey."

-

Sara looked worse than what Catherine had expected when she walked, redeyed, into the lab. However, Catherine also knew that if any one should be taking care of the little girl asleep in Grissom's office, it should be Sara, not her. Therefore, when everyone else had moved off to attempt to get work done, Catherine took that chance to speak to Sara.

"Chances are you'll get Bekki," Catherine said without warning. Sara continued to stare forward.

"Sara," Catherine sad beside her, shaking the other woman. "I know you lost a best friend, and trust me, I know what that feels like, but you have a little girl asleep in your boss' office that needs to see you as a strong woman. You can't shut down on us Sara, you can't shut down on her." Sara met Catherine's eyes albeit reluctantly and Catherine held them relentlessly.

"You missed how she shattered, Sara. She's ten years old. Her mother and most of her adopted aunts were killed by her psycho father." Catherine could tell she'd gotten through to Sara and so, threw in her final plea.

"She needs someone, Sara. She needs you."

-

-

Thanks to every one that's reviewed over the last three chapters. You've been really supportive now that I've picked this up again. I'll try to get another chapter of _Blossoming_ but I really want to finish this one first so I have a base to work off of. Thanks so much for the support though!__

_Coming soon…_

**Final steps to close this case__**

**_And…_**

**_Stay tuned for Blossoming!_**

-

Kavi Leighanna


	16. Finales

**Chapter 15 **

**Finales__**

****

_"Anger makes you smaller, while forgiveness forces you to grow beyond what you were."_

_--Cherie Carter-Scott_

"So let's hear it Mr. Lopez, from beginning to end," Warrick suggested, his voice carrying via speaker into the observation room. Lopez, who had a lawyer with him, stayed silent.

"You might as well tell me, man. Banning and Paolini gave you up and we… compromised. They'll testify in courts along with the bullet used to kill Amanda Bell. You're going for the death penalty but if you co-operate, we can recommend a lighter sentence," Warrick continued.

"Bitch kept my daughter!"

"So you killed her friends? That's not really fair."

"My daughter, my flesh."

"She never asked for support, and up until a couple of months ago, you didn't know Bekki existed." Catherine, Grissom, Sara and Nick watched the anger take root in posture and eyes as Warrick pushed the subject. Suddenly, his posture drooped and the anger drained from his eyes.

"I really loved Amanda," he started and Catherine found herself scoffing at the thought.

"I know it's hard to believe especially since… well, things weren't perfect at home, exactly."

"We know about the domestic violence, all of it pertaining to the case."

"Ah, yes, Jack and Sara," Lopez said, shaking his head. "I was devastated when she left. She didn't leave a note, never called… I was mad at her. Then I found out that she'd been pregnant when she left."

"Ten years later?" Lopez shrugged.

"I was still her father, Bekki's I mean. I still wanted to be part of her life." The observation room's occupants faced Catherine.

"Plausible. Eddie only hit Lindsey once in her ten years and he did care about her, deeply. He never took her when he was drunk," she answered their unasked question.

"That doesn't explain why you killed five women and contributed to the injury of another."

"I wanted to hurt her as much as she hurt me. I didn't know where she was but I knew where her best friends were and I'd seen Sara on the news for some high profile case." Warrick sighed, closing the folder and standing.

"What people will do in the name of love," Catherine murmured.

-

"We recommend life without parole," the spokesperson for the jury stated. The trials had lasted a month, a long month and the grave shift had attended as much of them as possible. Anthony Lopez had just been sentenced to life without parole.

"I talked to child services about Bekki because she doesn't want to go to a foster home," Sara said to Catherine as they stood from the benches.

"And?"

"They said they'd talk to Tony."

"Have they?" They began to stroll out of the courthouse. Sara nodded.

"He wants her to stay with me," she said softly as they stepped into the Vegas sunshine.

"Mommy!" Catherine whirled, in the process of putting her sunglasses on.

"It's the class trip today," Lindsey said. "I thought you'd be at home."

"Just sitting in on a case, sweetheart. Finishing touches on it," Catherine replied as she approached her daughter. Sara followed, her eyes searching for Bekki. Catherine noticed and did the same. She was hidden in the back of the group. The courthouse doors opened again as Bekki made her way to Sara's side. Out came Anthony Lopez, Scott Paolini and Jack Banning. The class had moved on but Catherine, Lindsey, Sara and Bekki stood rooted as the men were led past. Lopez stopped his guard for a moment.

"Sara?" She acknowledged him with a raise of her head.

"Take good care of my little girl for me?" Sara couldn't help the small smile that flitted across her face as her arm tightened around Bekki's shoulder.

"I will Tony. For Amanda." The guards led them to two police cars as Sara and Catherine watched, Grissom, Nick and Warrick at the bottom of the stairs.

"It's over," Catherine whispered as the police cars drove off.

"Yeah, its over." Sara and Catherine led the girls back to their class that had entered the room they had just vacated. Then they turned and walked back into the sun.

-

-

I'M NOT FINISHED YET! It would be no fun if I finished this here, especially since there haven't been proposals and nothing's final with Bekki and Sara!

-__

_Coming soon…****_

**Months after the case **

**Bekki's new living arrangements__ **

_**And…**_

**_Blossoming_** **_when I get around to it… soon I hope_**

-

Kavi Leighanna


	17. Possibilities

**Chapter 16**

**Posibilities**

_"Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one."_

_-- Jane Howard_

Months had passed now since their last gruelling case that hit closer to the hearts of the Vegas grave shift CSIs that they would ever admit. Routine had suddenly become crucial to maintain lifestyle and now, Christmas had rolled around. The sheriff, in an uncharacteristic Christmas mood had ordered that half of day shift take over the grave shifts on December 23rd, 24th, and 25th to allow for some well deserved time off for the season. They didn't object, especially since their then budding romances hadn't really gotten the chance to blossom.

"Gil?" Catherine poked her head into his office.

"Coming, Cath." It was routine. Catherine came to tell Grissom it was time for assignments and grave shift began. Energy for the dedicated CSIs, however, was running high. It was their last night before their three day vacation. Grissom stepped into the break room.

"Alright guys, let's try to get everything done so we don't have to pull a double. Quickly and flawlessly," he said, handing out three sheets. Nick and Greg – who was in the field more often since the Lopez case – received a casino murder, Sara and Warrick headed towards Lake Mead for a drowning and he and Catherine took a mundane robbery.

"Please no compromising cases!" he called at the retreating backs of the younger CSIs.

"They'll do their job, Gil. We'll have Christmas with all of the kids," Catherine quipped, grabbing her jacket off the back of her chair. He smiled in return, his hand automatically finding the small of her back.

"And what, may I ask, is the point of our robbery? We could do this backwards with our eyes closed and our hands tied behind our backs," she said as he pulled open the Denali door and helped her into the truck.

"That doesn't mean that we can't do it," he replied before closing the door. Catherine smirked as she buckled herself in.

"And plus, am I not allowed to spend time with my favourite CSI?" he asked as he climbed in the driver's seat. Catherine's smile grew.

"No, never," she said as they drove off.

-

Catherine was never more thankful for an easy robbery in her life. She'd thought she'd be okay, that she wouldn't be fidgety and over energetic, but to no avail. Her mind kept drifting to her three days of holidays that were a mere three hours away.

"Cath, stay with me here," Grissom's voice drifted into her thoughts. Catherine shot him a less than apologetic smiled and did her best to concentrate on the screen where their robbery was being played out.

"And pause it Archie. Go back a bit so we can get a good face picture," Grissom instructed. Archie, the A/V lab rat, complied, rewinding the security tape. The face of their robber was plastered on the large screen. Grissom and Catherine exchanged grins.

"Print!" Greg called, dropping a sheet in Catherine's hand before racing back out of the room. Grissom flipped open his phone.

"Brass, Grissom."

-

Catherine and Grissom stumbled into Catherine's house after their shift, around 9AM, locked together tightly.

"Gil…" Catherine moaned into his mouth. She broke away reluctantly and held his head in her hands.

"We shouldn't be doing this. We were supposed to just drop stuff off then go to pick up Lindsey and Bekki at Nancy's," she breathed, her chest still heaving from breathlessness. Grissom's eyes closed as he groaned.

"You know Bekki won't be happy if we're not there in time," Catherine reminded him. Grissom nodded, letting her slip out of his arms and she went to retrieve the cases that they'd dropped just outside the door.

"Christmas is coming, you know," Grissom murmured in her ear as she set the cases by the coffee table. His arms snaked around her tightly, pulling her snugly into his embrace as he tugged her back against him.

"Mm," she agreed, snuggling back against him. "My boss' boss gave me the next three nights off." Grissom smiled against her neck where his lips had settled.

"My boss gave me a couple of holiday nights too," he replied, allowing his lips to graze her neck with every word, his breath caressing her pulse as he spoke.

"Maybe someone would be willing to watch Lindsey on Wednesday," Catherine breathed out, referring to the final day of their holidays.

"Nick and Sara?" Grissom mumbled against her shoulder as his teeth nibbled her flesh. Catherine struggled to keep a fleeting hold on coherent thought.

"They'll probably want… ah… to get rid… oh, Lord… of Bekki," she replied between gasps and moans.

"Warrick? Greg?" Catherine nodded as his lips trailed down to her shoulder and collarbone.

"We should pick her up though," Catherine managed before her lips attacked his. Grissom groaned as she found the strength to pull herself away and saunter out the door, keys jangling from her fingers. He smiled as he followed her out.

-

December 23rd dawned cloudy and grey, much like Catherine was feeling as she awoke to a memory of a conversation.

"Sara's court date is today. The custody hearing for Bekki," she mentioned as, for once, she, Grissom and Lindsey sat at the breakfast table. Lindsey stopped, fork paused half way to her mouth.

"We've done all we can, Cath. We know Sara and Nick are the best people to be taking care of her, especially considering Sara's past with her parents," Grissom answered, placing a hand on hers. Catherine smiled at him.

"I know, and I have complete faith, but I don't know what Sara would do if she lost her," she voiced. Grissom shrugged.

"Let's just keep hoping she never finds out."

* * *

I know, kind of a weird place to stop but it has to be… here's to hoping Sara gets Bekki! 

Oh, and I'm really sorry that this chapter's kinda boring… I kind of needed it to be here so we could have the next couple and the final… then maybe I can get to work on Blossoming and the sequel!__

_Coming soon…****_

**Christmas brings all kinds of gifts__**

**_And, as always… Blossoming coming soon!_**

Kavi Leighanna


	18. Gifts

**Chapter 17 **

**Gifts** __

_"The great art of giving consists in this: the gift should cost very little and yet be greatly coveted, so that it may be more highly appreciated."_

_-- Baltasar Gracian_

_-_

Christmas Eve dawned much like the previous day had, enough to dampen Catherine's spirits slightly, but certainly not Lindsey's. She'd awoken bright and early and proceeded to skip in to wake up her mother and Uncle Gil. No one could remember the exact moment Grissom found himself constantly sleeping in Catherine's bed, but he had, and now found himself with three drawers and a quarter of her closet. He had also promised to take over the Christmas Eve cooking for the party with Sara, Nick, Warrick and, of course, Bekki who had become a mostly permanent fixture in their lives, regardless of the fact that she still didn't have a family.

"Mommy, they'll be here soon! Where'd you put all of the gifts?" Lindsey called down the stairs that afternoon. Catherine, who with little sleep had found herself with a stressful headache, groaned from the living room couch.

"Advil, dear?" Grissom asked softly, presenting Catherine with a glass of water and two little pills. Catherine took them gratefully and swallowed them down as Grissom moved behind her head and began massaging her headache away. Catherine moaned.

"You are a god," she groaned out as his hands worked magic on her sore head. Grissom grinned.

"Mommy!" Catherine winced.

"They're in the basement, Linds," she called back. Lindsey came barrelling down the stairs; Catherine winced at the thumping.

"Thanks, Mom," Lindsey said as she ran past. Catherine smiled genuinely.

"Hey, you okay now?" Grissom inquired softly. Catherine tipped her head back and gazed at him adorningly. Grissom smiled in return. Suddenly, Catherine sat up.

"Bekki's custody hearing," she said. Grissom sat beside her as silence reigned, both lost in the implications that simple phrase brought.

"Thanks… Mommy?" Lindsey had come back up the stairs, arms filled with brightly wrapped boxes.

"Put them under the tree for the night, sweetheart." Lindsey did as she was told and took a seat on her mother's lap. Catherine kissed the top of her head.

"I love you, Lindsey."

-

The knock on the door sounded promptly at 5pm. Catherine sprung from her seat in surprise.

"I come bearing gifts!" Nick's voice rang. Catherine grinned as she flung open the door. There stood Nick, Sara and…

"Bekki?"

"We got her, Cath. We got custody of Bekki!" Sara said, tears coming to her eyes. Catherine found herself with blurred vision as she pulled the young woman into her arms.

"I'm scared," Sara whispered in Catherine's ear.

"So was I," Catherine whispered back reassuringly. They pulled away and Catherine found herself presented with two large bags and an armful of gifts.

"Merry Christmas," Bekki said softly as she held out her armful. Catherine called to Grissom, shoving the girl's burden into his arms before sweeping Bekki into a hug.

"Come in!" she exclaimed when she let Bekki go.

-

I'm not finished yet, do not worry. Fluff is upcoming!__

_Coming soon…_

**The season of giving**

**_And of course… Blossoming_**

Kavi Leighanna


	19. Giving

**Chapter 18 **

**Giving__**

_"Sometimes when we are generous in small, barely detectable ways it can change some one's life forever."_

_-- Margaret Cho_

_-_

For Catherine and Lindsey, this Christmas meant the world and they voiced as much to all of their guests when thanking them for coming. They completely concurred.

"It's been rough," Sara said quietly, snuggling into Nick.

"For all of us," Nick quickly agreed. As if on cue, Lindsey scampered wide-eyed to the Christmas tree and dug through the presents. The one she pulled from the pile was wrapped in gold and silver, tied in red. She handed the package to Sara.

"What is this?" she asked. Lindsey rolled her eyes.

"It's a present, sill!"

"For me?"

"Yup." Sara slid her fingers under the ribbon reverently, slipping it off and starting on the snowflake studded paper. Inside was a plain, unmarked box. Sara lifted the lid carefully, almost as if she was afraid of what she might find.

"Lindsey…" Sara breathed out.

"It was Mommy's idea," Lindsey answered reflexively as Sara pulled out a snow globe. Inside the glass ball was a small cottage, painted brown with a little white door.

"This is amazing!" she whispered meeting the eyes of the apprehensive blond. Lindsey's face lit up with the biggest smile Sara had seen in three months. The brunette handed Nick her gift and held out her arms. Lindsey bounded into them, driving Sara back into the couch. Tears were all around at the touching sight, especially Catherine, who's tears ran liberally down her cheeks. Catherine had very quickly become Sara's confidante because of the bond that had formed. Catherine knew Sara mainly blamed herself for Amanda's death and that she firmly believe Lindsey and Bekki though the same. At least, at the beginning. Bekki had swiftly and permanently dispensed with those fears when she asked Sara constantly for help with her science homework and for a bedtime story. Lindsey had squashed Sara's idea with that hug.

"Miss Willows?" Catherine rolled her eyes affectionately as she took the baby blue gift.

"I'll open this on one condition," she prompted. Bekki grinned.

"Sorry, Catherine." Catherine smiled back and opened the gift. Inside was a similarly unmarked box. The gift, however, was not a snow globe. Catherine's grin turned to a soft smile. She pulled out a tree ornament, square in shape but with a unique decoration. It was a picture of Grissom, Catherine and Lindsey. Catherine and Grissom were sitting on a park bench both turned towards each other, facing Lindsey who was standing, laughing, behind them.

"Who took it?" Catherine asked.

"Mom did," Bekki answered, referring to Sara. It was another change that had taken place since Amanda's passing. Even before custody was awarded, Bekki had asked if she could call Sara "mom" and Nick "dad".

Catherine and Sara locked gazes, an entire conversation passing between them.

"Thank you." Bekki then presented her gift to Lindsey. Right away, Lindsey smiled. The gift was a book of some sort, she said. Bekki smiled secretively and waved her friend to keep going. Lindsey ripped off the paper, no ceremony involved, pulling out a photo album. Lindsey glanced at Bekki, confusion shining, before flipping to the first page. Much to her surprise, the pages were already filled. Lindsey met Bekki's eyes.

"How did you do this?" she asked, flipping through the numerous pictures of her and Bekki. A scrapbook of their friendship.

"I asked your mom and my mom for some of the things," Bekki replied with a shrug.

"But a scrapbook? It much have taken you forever!" Lindsey exclaimed. Bekki shrugged again.

"I had lots of help." Lindsey and Bekki exchanged grins and thank you's before Lindsey handed Bekki her gift.

"You gave me a book too!" Lindsey nodded. Bekki ripped off the paper. The book inside was decorated with hearts, one work embossed in gold: _Family._

Bekki opened it slowly, apprehensive to see what was inside. On the first page was a picture of baby Bekki with her vital stats: weight, length, date of birth and so on. On the next two pages were pictures of her parents. As Bekki flipped, pictures became ones of her life growing up. As she neared the end the photos become fresh pictures of her new family: Catherine, Grissom, Lindsey, Sara, Nick, Warrick, Greg and Brass.

"Great minds think alike," Bekki said. Lindsey shrugged.

-

Later that night, after Sara, Nick and Bekki had left and Lindsey had been put to bed, Catherine and Grissom sat out on her front porch.

"Lindsey had fun tonight," he said, breaking the comfortable silence. Catherine smiled in reply, something she'd been doing a lot more since the holiday season had begun.

"Sara and Bekki had a good time," she answered with emphasis. "Lindsey put a lot of thought into those gifts. Their reactions were priceless." Silence reigned again, though comfortable. Suddenly, Grissom pulled a small forest green wrapped package from his pocket and handed it to her.

"I was going to wait for tomorrow, but tonight is too perfect an opportunity to pass up." She unwrapped the box and gasped at its contents. The ring was stunning in its simplicity; two teardrop shaped sapphires framed a tastefully small diamond.

"Gil…"

"I love you very much, Catherine Willows, so much that I can't imagine a day without you; so much that I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Will you do me the greatest honour and become my wife?" Catherine sat, surprised and stunned. Her voice wouldn't work as she attempted to give her answer. Instead, she nodded enthusiastically. Happiness glowed in her eyes as he carefully took the box from her and withdrew the ring. It fit perfectly. He pulled her to him and kissed her thoroughly. Her only response was complete and total surrender.

He continued his assault on her senses, moving from her lips to her cheeks, eyelids and forehead. He trailed kisses to her ear, where he'd found she was very sensitive, down her neck to her shoulder. She, meanwhile, had manoeuvred them to the door and inside the house. When he realized this, he turned and softly pinned her against the wall, giving her a way to escape if she wanted it. She opted against escape and instead moaned throatily as he trailed down her chest, undoing buttons as he went. He paused however, at her moan.

"Cath? Do you want this? Lindsey's upstairs." Catherine growled her response and pulled his mouth back to hers for a searing kiss.

"I want this. I want you."

* * *

Upcoming is 19a and 19b. 19a will be R and will be placed appropriately. I won't post it with this story so that people who cannot read that sort of stuff can still read this without having crossed the line of R. Instead of looking for the next chapter of **Subtle Clues** look for the same sort of title with an R rating. Thanks.__

_Coming soon!****_

**The royal end!**

**_And of course, Blossoming is still up and coming. Soon I promise!_**

Kavi Leighanna


	20. Conclusions

**Chapter 19b **

**Conclusions__**

_"May your walls know joy; May every room hold laughter and every window open to great possibilities."_

_-- Maryanne Radmacher-Hershey_

_-_

True to form, though it was most likely, Lindsey woke up before Grissom and Catherine.

"Mommy!" she yelled from Catherine's doorway, jolting her mother from a rather enjoyable dream involving Grissom and his desk.

"Merry Christmas!" Lindsey called, running and jumping on the bed. Catherine groaned sleepily.

"Come on, Mommy! I want to open presents!"

"We'll be down in a minutes, Linds," Grissom answered, voice heavy with sleep. It made Catherine shiver pleasantly. Lindsey bounded out of the room and down the stairs. Catherine burrowed her head in Grissom's shoulder.

"Good morning," Grissom said.

"That it is," Catherine replied, leaning up to kiss him.

"Mommy!" Catherine groaned.

"Aren't you glad you put something more appropriate on," he whispered, his hand stroking the satin on her back. After they'd cleaned up the living room. Grissom, in a moment of foresight had suggested that they put on pyjamas so when Lindsey awoke in the morning, she wouldn't be greeted with her mom and Uncle Gil naked.

"Mm hm. It was a great idea Mr. Grissom." Lindsey yelled again and Catherine pulled away reluctantly.

"Coming Lindsey!" She unceremoniously yanked the covers off of Grissom's prone form, causing him to yelp in surprise before retrieving her robe from the floor. They meandered downstairs together, his hand on the small of her back.

"Finally!" Lindsey exclaimed, gift in hand, when the entered the living room, both with coffee. Catherine smiled affectionately and motioned for her daughter to start ripping. She and Grissom sat comfortably on the couch, completely content watching Lindsey open her gifts and cuddling on the couch. It wasn't until Lindsey presented Catherine with a gift that she caught sight of the ring.

"Mommy!" she cried, grabbing her hand. Even in front of her daughter Catherine couldn't help but grin happily. Lindsey admired the ring, turning Catherine's hand from side to side.

"It's about time! Every one's been waiting seventeen years for this!" she exclaimed settling herself between her mother and soon to be stepfather.

"You're okay with this?" Catherine asked. She knew for Lindsey no one could replace Eddie, even if he hit her mother, but she hoped her new stepfather would be pretty close.

"Mom, ever since you and Daddy separated, everyone in your lab has been waiting for this. Last check, I believe that Captain Brass was running a pool!" Catherine and Grissom exchanged murderous glances.

"We could pull it off and not leave evidence," she suggested playfully.

"How?"

"Uncle Gil! Mommy!" Lindsey admonished quickly. Catherine and Grissom began to laugh. Lindsey soon joined in.

"Merry Christmas, Mommy. Merry Christmas, Uncle Gil," Lindsey whispered, trying to catch her breath.

"Merry Christmas, Lindsey," Catherine whispered back, resting her head on her daughter's head.

And it truly was.

This year, family had come before work and Catherine had enjoyed watching Lindsey open her gifts with such a look of pure joy. This year, she wasn't on call, having to run out in the middle.

Most of all, this year, she was loved.

* * *

Just the epilogue left. Last chapter. Did you want me to do a sequel?

-__

_Coming soon…****_

**Their co-workers reactions**

**_Stay tuned for Blossoming and its finale!_**

-

Kavi Leighanna


	21. News

**Epilogue **

**News__**

_"Life is just a mirror and what you see out there, you must first see inside of you."_

_-- Wally 'Famous' Amos_

_-_

Catherine walked into CSI separate from Grissom their first day back for many reasons. Bekki and Lindsey still had another three days holiday such that it conflicted with Catherine, Grissom, Sara and Nick's return to work. It had taken Catherine forty-five minutes to get Lindsey ready to go with Bekki to her sister's. The two girls had seen a movie that afternoon and retuned with an hour to spare before they were supposed to be at Nancy's. It had taken them longer than expected. Now, she was late.

She HATED being late.

Everyone was gathered in the break room when Catherine entered, taking a seat at the end of the table closest to Grissom. He raised and eyebrow and Catherine exploded.

"Forty-five minutes! I told them we had to leave in half an hour when they got home and it took as an extra forty-five minutes to get to Nancy's!" Sara, who was sitting on Catherine's left, grabbed her hand as Catherine waved it around.

"Catherine Willows! Were you planning on keeping this from us?!" Grissom sat amused, watching Sara's reaction to Catherine's ring.

To be completely hones, Catherine had allowed the news to slip her mind in favour of her annoyance at her tardiness. Sara's comment had reminded her of the announcement.

"Gil and I have some news…"

* * *

And I'm done! Did you want a sequel? I have some ideas…**__**

**_Still working on Blossoming I promise. I wanted to get this one done first. Hopefully I'll get some work done on it on my Thanksgiving weekend._**

Kavi Leighanna


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